Shinobi Quest
by bbahla1
Summary: Shikamaru unknowingly makes a wish upon a shooting star and suddenly finds himself with the powers of The Gamer. Whatever will he do next?
1. Simple

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or "The Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

It was truly amazing, what chakra and man could do. Shikamaru Nara sighed contentedly as his eyes danced across the ceiling of his family's home. Lightly stained akita cedar of a rustic and reddish hue stretched as far as he could see. Their home was the only clan estate created (except for his own) by the Shodai Hokage himself, Hashirama Senju, a perk he threw in to convince the reclusive Nara clan to join his and Madara Uchiha's great experiment. It wasn't just a house – it was an entire compound, capable of serving as home to over ninety people. When the Nara clan - eighteen members at the time - arrived and protested that it was too much, Hashirama just laughed and told them that his dream was to create a place where there would be peace and prosperity, a place where their children could grow up and have many, many children of their own. Shikamaru smirked – it was still way too much. Three generations later, and the clan had only grown to twenty-five, simply because the Naras were typically too lazy to want to raise more than two children at a time. They turned most of the extra space into storage and housed the Village Hidden in the Leaves' nursery for medicinal plants. When the clan asked why the estate was so far from the village center, the first hokage grinned and commented that they would thank him for the privacy once the village began to grow. They did.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. This was his last night as a civilian. He had passed his examination at the academy the week before, and tomorrow, he would find out for sure who his new team would be and who his sensei for the foreseeable future would be as well. These could be some of his last moments of tranquility.

"SHIKAMARU NARA! ARE YOU STILL HERE?"

Shikamaru sighed. Leave it to his mother, Yoshino, to shatter the peaceful moment. "… No?" he called.

Yoshino Nara burst into his room and frowned at seeing him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "I thought I told you to go out and see your friends. You haven't left this house in three days."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "It's not like there's anything to do until tomorrow."

"There's always something to do, Shikamaru," she hissed. "I've given you your space this week, but this is ridiculous. Get out, even if for a couple hours. Just be back before eleven. Go see Choji. Go see anybody. Just get out of your room." Her tone softened. "I know you're a ninja now. I know there are a million things running through your mind right now. But you cannot hide away in your room whenever you try to avoid thinking about something."

The soon-to-be genin grimaced; she always saw right through him. "But it's already dark out. Can't it wait until…" he paused when he noticed her fists clenching. "Fine. This is such a drag…"

"There, was that so hard? Now, GET."

Shikamaru swung his legs off his bed and stretched. _"Might as well go see what Choji's up to… since apparently I can't stay here."_ His mother followed him down the stairs, making sure he actually left and didn't try to come back through his bedroom window, which he may or may not have done before. He walked down their front steps and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. He glanced up at the dusk sky and grinned as he saw a few clouds dancing in the last rays of the sun. He took off down the path into town, taking his time as his thoughts wandered.

Unlike the rest of his class, Shikamaru had a good idea of what was to come. He knew that tomorrow would begin a possibly short life of hard work. Every moment not spent getting better meant a higher chance that he or his comrades could die. He had spent the last three days in contemplation, trying to fully prepare for the reality into which he was stepping. Everything was so simple and safe at the academy, unlike in the rest of the shinobi world. The Land of Fire had had its share of hardships, sure, but compared to the other ninja villages, they enjoyed perhaps the highest quality of life during childhood. When the Sandaime had stepped back into the role of Hokage, he made it a point to immediately adjust the academy curriculum to allow children to grow up. Too many young children had been forced into combat during the wars, and the risk of a future prodigy snapping and turning against the village just too great.

The street lamps cast an orange hue along the streets as he entered the fringe of the village. Shikamaru sighed as he noticed the number of pedestrians on the street ahead and the clamor of city life reached his ears. _"So this is why mom kicked me so late… tonight's the last night of that science exposition the Cryptanalysis Division is hosting to try to raise funding."_ He rolled his eyes. _"Like there's going to be anything interesting there. The biggest advances are from the Land of Lightning, and they sure as hell aren't going to send anything to Konoha."_

He frowned as he noticed two members of the crowd turn and start walking his way. _"Please don't know me, please don't know me… They waved. Great, they're from my class._ "

Shikamaru steeled himself for one of the worst things in the world – a conversation with people to whom he had no interest in speaking. Akio Kohaku and Kazuo Tono were technically listed in the middle of the class as far as grades went, with passable taijutsu and the ability to perform the mandatory academy jutsu. Unlike his peers, Shikamaru had a general idea of how the team assignments went – there was always a second test, one that eliminated over two-thirds of those who passed the exam. Some of the eliminated with talent went to a different academy program located outside the walls, while the rest were cut from the program altogether. They then entered civilian life. The reason the village let them stay in the program was that the more they developed, the more likely their children would have higher potential as shinobi. Chakra was funny that way. Akio and Kazuo wouldn't make the cut – they simply didn't have the talent to survive past the academy, nor did they have the chakra capacity to do much beyond the academy's required jutsu. He waited until they got closer before acknowledging them. "Yo."

"What up, Shikamaru?" Akio greeted. Kazuo waved a hello. "You come to see the last of the tech show?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nah, that'd take too much effort with the crowd. I'm just going to what Choji's doing tonight."

Akio grinned. "Choji's not going to be doing anything tonight." He pointed back at the crowd. "There was a takoyaki eating competition at the expo, and he won. I don't think he feels like a winner now, though- he had to knock three people out of his way on his race to the bathroom."

"Oh, Choji, not again," Shikamaru groaned. Akio and Kazuo just laughed. Kazuo's eyes then lit up.

"Oh! Man, you should check out my uncle's stand. He's a chunin that works in the intelligence division breaking down foreign technology. He and some of his friends are showing off a game they recreated. It's really cool!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "A game? What kind of game?"

Kazuo bounced on his feet. "It's so cool! So you know about those new televisions that came out a few years ago, the ones that have those plugs in the back that nobody knows what they're for?" Shikamaru nodded. He knew about them, but his clan didn't own any televisions. His mother had shut that down immediately, knowing the danger it would pose to anyone with Nara blood. "So apparently they're something that's been for sale in the Land of Lightning and a couple other places for almost a decade, and they have other machines that plug into the televisions and let you do more than just watch the channels."

That actually sounded pretty interesting. "What kind of stuff can they do?"

"They can watch films through tapes instead of going to the theater, and they can play music and stuff, but supposedly, they can also be used to play a game that appears on the screen. So my uncle and his team reverse-engineered a game machine and created their own! They spent a couple years working on it, since apparently their first games weren't very good, but this one is pretty cool."

"… Sweet. How does it work?"

Kazuo was still almost too excited. "They called it a role-playing game. So the game has a main character that you control with a remote thing that has buttons. And the character can move across the screen and talk to other characters who have a question or explanation point over their heads that are in the game and they tell you how to go on quests. It's still on a black and white screen, but they're working on that. And you can fight crazy enemies like zombies and animals and weird things, and when you beat them, you get experience points, which let you reach a new level and you can pick how you get stronger. And you can pick up items that do lots of things…"

Shikamaru tuned him out. _"Yeah, mom would never let me have something like that… Sounds interesting, but what's the point of spending so much effort on something that isn't real? I could use that time to watch the clouds or train."_ Shikamaru nodded as Kazuo paused to catch his breath. "Sounds cool, but don't we basically do the same thing as ninja? You know- go on real missions, earn real money…"

"Yeah, but this _isn't_ real! That's what awesome about it," Akio chimed in. "So anyone can have an adventure without having to risk going outside the gates or having anyone attack you. All the fun, without any danger! And you don't even have to be a ninja to play it."

Shikamaru withheld himself from rolling his eyes. _"Yeah, these two are definitely not going to make it past tomorrow if they are that into things you don't have to be a ninja to do_."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, I'll have to check it out sometime, thanks, but hey, I better go on home if Choji's sick. See you tomorrow." He turned around and walked away, wincing as the two walked back into the crowd, still yammering loudly about the game. Shikamaru chuckled once they disappeared into the crowd. _"Sounds like such a waste of time. But it's an interesting concept… Oh, man, what a drag. This is going to be stuck in my head all night."_

Shikamaru turned and went back down the road – his walk had spent about an hour. His mom wouldn't let him back in by now – it was only around 8:30 PM. He glanced up at the first stars of the night and smiled contentedly. _"Maybe just a couple more minutes outside will keep her from bothering me about coming home too soon. It's not my fault Choji overate again."_ He looked up at the tree limbs, searching for a good place to relax. He settled on an extra-large branch and climbed up, leaning his back against the tree and folding his hands behind his head. The branches above served as a window to the stars and the clouds above. Then he noticed something and groaned. _"The way the branches are, it looks like a square… like a television screen. What a drag. I can't get away from it. And it's pointless to think about it, because there's no way mom would ever let me do something like that."_

He closed his eyes to try and get the image out of his head. _"But it's such a simple way to be a ninja. Just go around, doing missions or quests or whatever, fighting monsters… and you don't have to worry about the annoying things, like being ambushed and dying for real, or who you need to find in a quest since they are notated with floating punctuation. You just fight monsters, and then you level up, just like that… I wonder if the character has to eat or sleep?"_ He groaned and shook his head. "Damn it, I'm trying to clear my head, not fill it with more crap!"

Shikamaru inhaled the scent of the forest and of the maple tree on which he sat and breathed out, letting the thoughts dissipate in an attempt to reach the tranquility for which he yearned. He opened his eyes and traced the outline of the single wispy cloud in the night sky, shining brightly from the illumination of the silver moon above. _"This is it… tomorrow, I start my new life as a genin. No more simplicity. Fewer moments like this. I wish my life as a ninja could be like the ninja in that game… Ugh, there it is again! Forget it, time for bed."_

Little did he know, as he sneaked through the trees towards his home, that behind the cloud he gazed upon streaked a single flash of light: a shooting star, thundering through the earth's atmosphere and breaking apart miles above him. And as the pieces moved towards the earth, one could almost form a word by connecting the dots: 'DONE.'

…

"SHIKAMARU, WAKE UP! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

"Ugh…" Shikamaru stirred, groaning as his mother's voice roused him from sleep. _"Just a few more minutes…"_

Yoshino wasn't done yet! "SHIKAMARU NARA! WAKE THE F…"

Shikamaru tensed. _"Something's wrong. She never just stops._ " He opened his eyes and found himself surrounded in pitch-black nothingness. He leapt out of bed and frowned as his bare feet his the floor. His floor was wood. This was… _"I don't know what this is…_ " He bent down and reached his fingers down towards the floor, only to find that they passed right through it. He blinked in surprise. _"Am I… floating? Wait, maybe this is like the time Ino tried to hypnotize me through her jutsu…"_ He closed his eyes. "Ugh, Ino, this isn't funny. I was sleeping. That's weird. Get out of my head."

He paused, expecting to hear her giggle in the background, only to hear nothing. _"Oh, man, this can't be good…"_ He summoned up his chakra and stilled it before putting his fingers together and expelling it. "Kai!"

Shikamaru opened his eyes to find nothing changes. _"This is the weirdest genjutsu… I heard of something like this that the second hokage was famous for, but nobody in the village besides the Sandaime would be able to do something like this. Maybe it really is Ino…"_ "Ino, last chance. Don't get me started… ack!"

He jumped back as a bright blue light flashed into existence in front of him, following him as he retreated. He braced himself with his arms in front of his face as it followed him, only for it to stop directly in front of him. He widened his stance and chanced a peek before swearing and dropping his guard. "This is one hell of a dream…"

In front of him, in a glowing, floating blue window, was a screen with only a few words:

 **Shinobi Quest, version 3.0.**

 **New Game**

Shikamaru turned around to check his surroundings, but the screen followed him, always floating into position in front of him. He waved his hands where his nightstand should be only to find more nothingness. _"So this is more than just the floor… I can no longer sense anything in my room."_ He sighed. "This is such a drag… I _still_ can't escape this game stuff, even in my dreams. Looks like no other option."

He took another look at the screen and tried to press 'new game' only to find his hand passing through the screen. " _How did Kazuo say it worked… a remote."_ He looked around, but couldn't find anything in the limited light offered by the blue screen. "The only option is to select a new game, so… Ah, so it works remotely by voice."

At his utterance, the words 'new game' blinked and the screen dissipated, only for a new screen to appear in its' place.

 **Due to predetermined conditions, your character statistics cannot be changed.**

" _Okay, but how do I go to the next screen…"_

As soon as his thought ended, the screen dissipated again and a new screen appeared. _"So my thoughts control the process as well… That makes it less of a drag,"_ he observed, interested growing. The screen in front of him now was significantly larger than the previous ones, taking up almost his entire field of vision. At the top was the word 'Character,' and beneath it was a picture of his face and his name next to it. He twitched a little as he continued on.

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: N/A_

 _Rank: Academy Graduate_

 _Title: [Academy Student] (+5 SP)_

 _Level: 8_

 _EXP: 0 / 867_

 _Health Points (HP): 117 / 117_

 _Chakra Points (CP): 78 / 78_

 _Stamina Points (SP): 22 / 22_

 _Strength (STR): 2_

 _Vitality (VIT): 8_

 _Dexterity (DEX): 7_

 _Intelligence (INT): 55_

 _Wisdom (WIS): 15_

 _Luck (LUK): 0_

 _Stat Points (ST): 0_

 _Chakra Control: 28%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _SP Regeneration: 5% / minute._

Shikamaru took a deep breath, then look through it one more time. _"What is this the standard this is comparing me to? Chakra control at twenty-eight percent, strength at two… luck at zero? Compared to intelligence at 55? That's a huge discrepancy!"_ Shikamaru paused, then pondered. _"Maybe it's not… Maybe I have no idea how weak I am because I haven't really seen what a ninja can really do… Which contributes to why my wisdom is way lower than my intelligence."_

Shikamaru's brain flashed back to only two week's prior, when in a spar he had landed a punch on Ino's cheek only for her to ignore it and sock him in the face hard enough to knock him unconscious. _"… Maybe it's right. Two for strength. This is depressing. What else is there?"_

"Next… Ha. Of course." A screen popped up over the status screen that stated:

 **Congratulations! Your intelligence has surpassed 50! As a reward, you have unlocked the attribute: 'Head in the Clouds': Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds.**

" _Now I have an excuse. Next… Inventory? For what?"_

 **Apparel**

 _Head:_

 _Torso:_

 _Undershirt:_

 _Gloves:_

 _Underwear:_

 _Legs: [Plain Boxers (White)]_

 _Feet:_

 _Accessory:_

 _Accessory:_

 _Weapon 1:_

 _Weapon 2:_

 _Projectile 1:_

 _Projectile 2:_

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. _"Great, so what was the point of keeping track that I'm only wearing my boxers? That's just creepy. Next."_ This time, a second screen appeared next to the first. At the top was the word _Storage_ , and then there were several boxes of a deeper shade of blue beneath it. At the bottom was a fraction that read '0 / 20.'

" _Storage? There's no way for me to figure this out right now… Next, this has to be over soon."_ The two screens faded as another took their place, this time titled: 'Attributes.' A small window popped up on top:

 **No current elemental affinity assigned! Please make a selection.**

He blinked a few times at that one. It was common knowledge that members of the Nara clan typically had an affinity for earth ninjutsu, but here he could apparently select something else. He mind started running through the advantages of each element, but only one was his favorite to watch as it flashed across a darkened sky: "Lightning."

 **Gained 'Elemental Affinity Lightning': Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%.**

Shikamaru dismissed the pop ups and took a look through the attributes screen.

 **Attributes**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP, CP, and SP recovery rates continue during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities; evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom_

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to all stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%."_

Shikamaru took a deep breath, then shook his head. "This has to be the most intricate dream I've ever had…" he muttered. "Next."

A second screen appeared, just like with the inventory. This one was titled 'Attributes to Purchase. Current Attribute Points (AP): 2.'

 **Attributes to Purchase**

 _Bye, Felisha: Increase chances of outwitting your opponent and escaping by 25%. (AP: 5)_

 _A Gentleman & A Scholar: Multiply EXP gained for ninjutsu abilities by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Dreamer: Multiply EXP gained for genjutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _I Know Kung Fu: Multiply EXP gained for taijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Big Stick Diplomacy: Multiply EXP gained for bukijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Medicine Man: Multiply EXP gained for iryojutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Affinity: Water: Increase EXP gained for water ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of water ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Wind: Increase EXP gained for wind ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of wind ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Earth: Increase EXP gained for earth ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of earth ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Fire: Increase EXP gained for fire ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of fire ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)"  
_

" _I could purchase perks and second affinities? That's… useful."_ He glanced at the top of the screen again and noticed his current attribute points at 2, the cheapest attribute costing 5, and the affinities costing 25. "Man, what a drag. And I was getting excited… Next." This time, the new screen, titled 'Jutsu,' appeared with an arrow at the bottom. His eyes went towards the arrow, and the text moved to upwards, revealing to him more categories. He went back to the beginning and start reading from start to finish. Jutsu was divided into multiple categories, such as ninjutsu and genjutsu, and subcategories, like his family ninjutsu and elemental ninjutsu.

 **Ninjutsu**

 _Nara Clan Secret Jutsu_

 _Shadow Bind (Level 10): Original technique created by the Nara clan to control the shadows. The user manipulates his or her shadow across surfaces to the shadow(s) of the opponent(s) and renders them immobile. (CP: 20 per target, +1 per sec. of resistance per target) (Range: M)_

 _Ninjutsu_

 _Clone (Level 5): The user creates an illusionary copy of himself to try and deceive the enemy. (CP: 20, Limit 2 at a time, Range: S)_

 _Transformation (Level 5): The user creates an illusion that covers the self and mimics the appearance of another person or thing. (CP: 15, +1 per 15 sec.)_

 _Substitution (Level 5): The user replaces herself with a nearby log or other inanimate object to escape damage. (CP: 15, Range: M-)_

 _Nature Manipulation_

 _Fire Style: Charcoal (Level 2): The user transforms wood or stone into glowing embers. (CP: 20, Range: S-)_

 **Genjutsu**

 _Kai (Level 2): Releases user from genjutsu. The higher the level, the higher level of genjutsu that can be broken. Higher leveled genjutsu can be broken through consumption of additional chakra based upon level of enemy's jutsu. (CP: 10+)_

 **Taijutsu**

 _Academy Taijutsu (Level 19): Basics of hand-to-hand combat._

 **Bukijutsu**

 _Shuriken (Level 5): Ability to throw shuriken in combat. (Accuracy: 5%, Range: M)_

 _Kunai (Level 7): Ability to throw or wield kunai in combat. (Accuracy: 7%, Range: M)_

 **Iryojutsu**

 _N/A_

 **Zatsujutsu**

 _Leaf Concentration (Level MAX): Concentrate on holding a leaf to your body to learn how to control chakra! Develops chakra control multiplier from 0 to 1 at maximum._

"Zatsujutsu… must be for anything that doesn't fall into the other categories…"

Shikamaru dismissed the window and glanced back through the list, noticing that even small techniques not intended for combat were listed, such as the charcoal creation technique his father had taught him last summer for starting a cooking fire. _"I know everything that's listed here, beyond what level this dream apparently thinks I execute my techniques. Only level 10 for the Shadow Bind Jutsu? That shouldn't be right…"_ But in the back of his mind, cold dread started to set in. _"What if… What if my control over my chakra has limited my control over my techniques? That would mean that I've never really mastered the Shadow Bind like I should have…"_ His father had once famously trapped nearly two-dozen enemy shinobi using the Shadow Bind Jutsu, the basis for all of the Nara clan shadow manipulation techniques, enabling Chouza Akimichi to eliminate them all in one giant hit. Shikamaru was nowhere near that point.

Shikamaru muttered "next" and perked up when he saw the next screen:

 **Character creation complete! New Game: Begin!**

The screen flew off into the darkness, and Shikamaru started gasping as he felt everything around him start to spin and church. He opened his mouth to scream as his footing disappeared and he fell into the abyss, only for everything to come to an abrupt stop. His ears ringing, his fingers darted out, shocked to find something physical to touch. _"Soft… warm… is this… my bed?"_ Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and found himself back in his room, lying under his covers in his bed. "So it was just a dream…" he whispered. He settled back into the sheets and gazed at the ceiling, trying to reign in his rapidly beating heart. _"It was all so surreal…"_

His vision was suddenly blocked by a dark figure hovering over him. "Shikamaru…"

He flinched. "…What, mom?"

"GET OUT OF BED!"

…

Shikamaru sighed as he stepped into the shower, the steam soothing his troubled mind as he recalled the vivid images of the game menu seared into the forefront of his mind. _"I always remember my dreams, but never have I had so much control in them… It was too real. Would have been fun if I got to play. What jutsu could I learn? What kind of enemies would there be? Maybe I'll dream the dream again and spend more time on the jutsu screen…"_ "What the hell?!" Shikamaru bolted backwards, slamming his back against the cool tiles as his instincts reacted to a flash of blue right in front of his face. Breathing quickly, the academy graduate wiped the water from his face and gazed in awe at the sight in front of him:

 **JUTSU: Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Bukijutsu, Iryojutsu, Zatsujutsu**.

" _No fucking way…"_ "KAI!" He quickly stopped and restarted his chakra flow in an attempt to escape whatever genjutsu he must be caught in. Nothing changed. _"No, no, no, what the hell is this!"_ Shikamaru summoned as much chakra as he could and expelled it at once: "KAI!" He collapsed to the floor, drained of energy, the blue, glowing window still in the corner of his vision. _"Normally I don't go through chakra this quickly. Only two attempts at breaking free and I'm gassed…"_ The genius winced as he realized what he would need to do. "Character."

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: N/A_

 _Rank: Academy Graduate_

 _Title: [Academy Student] (+5 SP)_

 _Level: 8_

 _EXP: 0 / 867_

 _Health Points (HP): 117 / 117_

 _Chakra Points (CP): 0 / 78_

 _Stamina Points (SP): 22 / 22_

 _Strength (STR): 2_

 _Vitality (VIT): 8_

 _Dexterity (DEX): 7_

 _Intelligence (INT): 55_

 _Wisdom (WIS): 15_

 _Luck (LUK): 0_

 _Stat Points (ST): 0_

 _Chakra Control: 28%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _SP Regeneration: 5% / minute._

" _Chakra at zero… that explains why I'm beat. How much chakra does the release technique take?"_ Shikamaru waved the character screen away and looked again at the jutsu screen. _"Genjutsu."_ The text on the screen swept up and was replaced by a screen titled 'genjutsu.'

 **Kai (Level 2) Releases user from genjutsu. The higher the level, the higher level of genjutsu that can be broken. Higher level genjutsu can be broken through consumption of additional chakra based upon level of enemy's jutsu. (CP: 10+)**

" _So I tried putting extra chakra into the jutsu until I hit zero. Either this is a ridiculously powerful genjutsu, or it's not a genjutsu at all,"_ he reasoned. He waved the screen away and returned to his character screen. He frowned as he noticed something extra troubling. _"Chakra control at 28%. That could be the other reason… and my CP is already back to 4 out of 78. That must be the 5% per minute regeneration."_

Shikamaru dismissed the character screen and pulled up the inventory screen, twitching a little as the apparel screen appeared with no items equipped and a small warning at the top: "Caution: No Items Equipped. At high risk for critical hits." He picked up the bar of soap and waited, but nothing showed as equipped. He moved over to the storage screen, which was also still empty. He glanced at the soap, glanced at the screen, then murmured, "Storage!... Nothing. Store! Into! Go in! Enter!" He reached up with his free hand to tap at the screen and was surprised to see it ripple at his touch, which the other screens did not do. He took the bar of soap and held it up to the screen, watching as it passed through the screen like moving through a veil of water and appeared in the first slow. He was now at 1 / 20 items in storage. Shikamaru reached his hand out and tapped the icon showing the soap, and the bar flew out into his outstretched hand.

He dismissed all of the screens and took some time to finish his shower in peace. After drying off, he put on his ninja gear, wrapped his Konoha Headband around his arm, and pulled up his character screen, noticing that his chakra was recovered enough for him to experiment, then pulled up his inventory once again.

 **Apparel**

 _Head: Plain Earrings_

 _Torso: Nara Clan-Insignia Sleeved Vest [+30 REP with Sarutobi, Yamanaka, & Akimichi clans; _

_-10 REP with all Leaf Ninja]_

 _Undershirt: Plain Mesh Tank [+5% CP Regeneration]_

 _Gloves:_

 _Underwear: Plain Boxers (White)_

 _Legs: Plain Capris (Brown)_

 _Feet: Standard Sandals (Blue) [+5 Dexterity]_

 _Projectile Bag: [Small Pouch: 15 / 15]_

 _Accessory: Konoha Headband [+10 REP with all Leaf Ninja and allies]_

 _Accessory:_

 _Weapon 1:_

 _Weapon 2:_

 _Projectile 1: Kunai (3)_

 _Projectile 2: Shuriken (12)_

" _I'm guessing REP stands for something… Reputation? Literal rep. What did the Nara clan do to sour our reputation with all Leaf Ninja?"_ Shikamaru wondered. He frowned as he noticed that much of his gear did nothing for his stats. _"I could use some armor, or something, to protect myself."_

He double checked his chakra points, then put his hands together in the Ram hand seal and concentrated on using as little chakra as possible before whispering, "Kai!" He immediately checked his character screen again to run the numbers. _"After putting my equipment on, some of my stats were boosted and my control is now at 38%. So I waste 62% of the chakra necessary to perform the technique. Genjutsu: Kai normally takes 10 CP, meaning it now costs 16.2, which was rounded to 16… Man, what a drag. This makes a huge difference in what I can do."_

Before leaving his room, Shikamaru gathered every extra shuriken and kunai he possessed and put them into his inventory, noting with a grin that duplicate items only took up one storage space per item, meaning he could store 20 shuriken and 6 kunai and only take up 2 / 20 spaces. He meandered down the stairs to the kitchen, where his father was sipping a cup of coffee at the table and his mother was just setting down three bowls of rice with fried eggs on top. Shikamaru thanked her and sat down. Yoshino Nara sat down as well, carrying two cups of coffee and setting one in front of her son. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Coffee? I'm twelve."

"You also have a history of falling asleep in class. I want you wide awake when you meet your sensei," Yoshino quipped. Shikamaru glanced at his father, who was hiding a grin behind his own cup.

"Drink up. It's not everyday your mother cooks breakfast," Shikaku joked.

Yoshino swatted his arm. "Today's special. Don't get used to it." She grabbed her chopsticks and looked at her son, who hadn't touched his rice or his coffee. "You okay? You're quiet."

The genin-to-be blinked, bringing his attention back to the present. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind. This could be a long day."

"What makes you say that? Registration and team assignments are usually done by eleven," Shikaku inquired.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It depends on whether our jounin sensei decides to do the second test today."

Yoshino blinked. "And who told you about that?" She glanced at Shikaku, who shrugged.

"I didn't tell him. But it's not exactly a well-kept secret," Shikaku observed.

Shikamaru nodded. "There are several teams of genin that graduated the academy but don't start taking missions around the village for either four, eight, or twelve months. I just asked one of the teams what happened to them." He took his chopsticks and broke the yolks of the fried eggs, letting them ooze over the hot rice. "I know most of the graduates in my class won't make it. There will probably only be three teams."

Shikaku's eyebrow shot up. "Only three? That's interesting. Why do you say so few?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Only nine of us are strong enough for combat. And I already know that Ino, Choji, and I will be together. Our sensei will probably be a member of the Sarutobi clan."

Shikaku started laughing and set his coffee down. "I should be surprised, but I suppose it is obvious. Yours was the first team I created."

Shikamaru nodded. His father was the jounin commander- he likely had the teams figured out the day they all finished their tests. The family fell into quiet chuckles as they finished their breakfast.

Shikaku got up to refill his coffee, then leaned against the counter and stared at his son. "Who are the other teams?"

Shikamaru blinked. "Huh?"

"Who are the other teams that will pass? You said three teams."

Shikamaru folded his hands together and leaned onto the table, thinking quickly. "I never gave it much thought, since I knew what my team would be… Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzaka, and Shino Aburame. All heirs to their clans, all with enhanced sensory abilities, and a two male to one female ratio, which Konoha has preferred since the second great war."

Shikaku started chuckling again as Shikamaru finished his last few bites of eggy rice before continuing. "Sasuke Uchiha was top shinobi of the class, and Sakura Haruno was top kunoichi. They will be paired together with Naruto Uzumaki."

Shikaku stopped laughing and took a drag of his coffee. "Naruto Uzumaki didn't pass the genin exam. Why would he be on the team?"

Shikamaru smirked. "The academy has passed other students who couldn't pass the ninjutsu exam. He passed everything else. The only reason he couldn't pass is chakra control, but nobody at the academy could help him with that."

"Oh? And why's that? Doesn't the academy teach control exercises?" Yoshino inquired.

Shikamaru smirked. "Yes, but they're designed for ninja with genin-level chakra or less. During the control test where we have our chakra capacity measured by putting it into those special tags, his disintegrated. I was watching him while it happened- he summoned so much raw chakra that it was visibly flowing around him. I thought he was going to blow the roof off. I don't know of anyone who can pull up enough chakra to make it visible without it being a special jutsu. There's no way he won't be put on a team, and right now, nobody else would be able to hold their own on a squad with the two top performers in the class."

Shikaku took a deep gulp of his coffee before setting it down on the counter and folding his arms. "… You are correct in that Naruto Uzumaki did pass, but not for the reason you think. He was able to learn and perform a clone technique before the end of the night of the graduation exam, with an academy instructor witnessing. With that, he received enough marks to pass as the lowest ranked in the class, and there is precedent for pairing the lowest scoring student with the top two. The famous Sannin come to mind as a team that followed that precedent. However, as nostalgic as the Sandaime Hokage can be, the final decisions on assignments actually comes to me, at his request. I am not bound by precedent if I believe such a team would not perform at a high level. Just having a lot of chakra does not mean we wouldn't cut him from the program."

Shikamaru nodded and took a sip of his coffee. Yoshino stood up and left the room, coming back with a small brown paper bag in her hand, which she handed to their son after pausing to tear off the receipt stapled to the top. "You'll have to forgive the wrapping job." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and peeked into the bag, before inhaling sharply in shock.

"Explosive tags?!"

Yoshino laughed. "I figured if the coffee didn't wake you up, those would! They're illegal for non-ninja, and you technically aren't a ninja until later today, so make sure nobody sees you with them. We've got a few minutes before you need to leave; want to learn how to activate them?"

Shikamaru smiled. "I think I could go for that… thank you," he added sincerely. Shikaku and Yoshino smiled warmly at him.

"Sometimes, overkill is a good thing!" Yoshino said. She finished her mug of coffee and slammed it on the counter. "Let's go blow something up!"

She grabbed her son and dashed outside to the training grounds. Shikaku just shook his head as he finished his coffee in silence before letting out a deep sigh. "Either he's catching up or I'm becoming predictable. Better not play him in shogi as much anymore or he'll figure me out too soon."

…

Shikamaru was grinning as he sprinted towards the academy. Out in the training grounds, his mother showed him how to activate the explosive tags using the snake hand seal. On his first attempt, a blue screen appeared in the corner of his vision, saying:

 **Learned: Explosive Tag: Detonate (Level MAX). (CP: 1). Unlocked Jutsu category:** _ **Fuinjutsu**_ **.**

Every attempt thereafter was successful, and he now had four-dozen tags in his inventory to use however he pleased. As he ran, he also learned that every action he took that took more physical energy than standard human activity would drain his stamina points. If he walked or ran, nothing happened. If he ran at the pace of a shinobi versus that of a civilian, he consumed stamina points, or SP. These would also regenerate, but just as with his chakra, it was not as much stamina as he was used to having. He would have to play around with it and figure out how best to utilize these features of the game.

Shikamaru smirked as his mind processed the possibilities. _"Looks like life won't be as simple anymore. What a drag."_

…

…

…

***Author's Note: Tightened up formatting and a made a handful of minor edits for consistency with later chapters. Most impactful edit would be regarding how some of the statistics are calculated. 14 December 2019, then again on 1 May 2020.


	2. Not So Simple

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or "The Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

It was a boring building, the academy. From the outside, it was clearly a school. In fact, if one looked at the civilian primary school two blocks down, one might notice that they seem nearly identical. This was, of course, by design. It was impossible to hide a school for young shinobi as anything but a school; one could, however, confuse invaders by way of misdirection. Warm, sandy beige plaster covered the exterior of the two-story, oblong structure, windows spaced out in perfect symmetry on each floor. A single clock tower stretched above the roof in the very center, casting a long shadow away from the morning sun. A small playground hugged the corner of the front walls, with a lone swing and some monkey bars for the youngest ninja hopefuls. Ancient oaks in the front lawn shielded the young from the outside world while reminding the students of why there were here: to protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Shikamaru strolled in through the front doors, hands in his pockets, savoring one of the last times he would enter this space. He sighed heavily as he ambled past a classroom filled with children five years his junior, the teacher begging them to stay in their seats for just one more day until the summer break. He walked past the wall of awards, noticing that Sasuke's and Sakura's names are already engraved on the plaques for top shinobi and top kunoichi. He entered his old classroom, noting how nearly everyone was early, including Naruto Uzumaki, who was currently squatting on a desk clutching his mouth while Sasuke hunched over in front of him, gagging. _"… What the hell did I miss?"_

"NA-RU-TO!"'

Shikamaru winced as Ino and Sakura unleashed their fury on Naruto's face, pummeling him into the back corner of the room. Shikamaru just shook his head and took his regular seat next to his closest friend. "Yo, Choji."

"Mmmrph, mmm, Mornin', Shikamaru," Choji mumbled around a mouthful of chips. Shikamaru sighed as his friend rushed through his snack.

"Choji, man, it's not even nine in the morning. Are you really eating chips already? You were just sick yesterday."

Choji swallowed and paused. "Oh, you heard about that? I feel fine now. It just means I'm extra hungry today!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He glanced around the room as everyone began taking their seats. He looked towards the front row and noticed Akio Kohaku and Kazuo Tono sitting together, still half asleep after staying out at the festival last night. His eyes lingered on them as he wondered if they would prove him wrong and make it past the test today. _"Just how strong would they be in the game?"_

Shikamaru blinked as a blue window snapped into existence in front of him.

 **Learned: Observe (Level 1). By analyzing your surroundings, you are able to learn information. (CP: 5).**

Shikamaru brought up the jutsu screen and searched for his new ability, finding it listed under **Zatsujutsu**. He flipped through the screens, hoping to see a pattern, but he just didn't have enough information to discover anything more. He waved the pop ups away and turned his gaze back towards his classmates. _"Observe. Observe."_ __Floating blue text began hovering over his targets.

 _Akio Kohaku (Lv. 4)_

 _?_

 _Kazuo Tono (Lv. 4)_

 _?_

"… _That doesn't tell me much,"_ Shikamaru observed. _"Level 4… I'm Level 8. Maybe my hunch about them not passing is more than accurate."_ Shikamaru swing his gaze around the room, casting observe on as many of his classmates as he could until his CP hit zero. He hit his limit after six due to his low chakra control.

 _Ino Yamanaka (Lv. 7)_

" _Academy Graduate"_

 _Sakura Haruno (Lv. 6)_

 _?_

 _Choji Akimichi (Lv. 7)_

" _Academy Graduate"_

 _Naruto Uzumaki (Lv. 5)_

" _Dead Last"_

 _Sasuke Uchiha (Lv. 11)_

 _?_

 _Hinata Hyuga (Lv. 10)_

 _?_

Shikamaru was surprised as he gleaned through the new observations. _"Sasuke at 11?! And Hinata is next at 10… She must be much stronger than she lets on. And I can see nicknames or something under Choji, Naruto, and Ino. It looks like how well I know someone increases the effects of the technique. And what's with the different title for Naruto?"_ He flinched when a blue screen appeared suddenly right in front of his face.

" _You have increased Observe to level 2!"_

" _I HAVE to figure out how to stop these things from popping up like this…"_ The Nara glanced at his CP, noticing that it had recovered enough to use observe once more, and looked directly at Sakura. _"Observe."_

 _Sakura Haruno (Lv. 6)_

" _Forehead Girl"_

" _So the more I level up the skill, the more it reveals. Although I can only see nicknames or something and not anything more useful.."_ He leaned back and put his feet up as the students all waited for Iruka-sensei to arrive. _"Better wait and replenish my chakra. I want to 'observe' Shino and Kiba, once they get here."_

Over twenty minutes passed by, and Shikamaru recovered enough to observe Kiba and Shino, learning that either he didn't know Shino as well as he thought or the level difference made that much impact.

 _Kiba Inuzaka (Lv. 7)_

" _Academy Graduate"_

 _Shino Aburame (Lv. 11)_

 _?_

Iruka finally walked into the room, a clipboard clutched tightly in hand. Shikamaru cast observe, only to be surprised again.

 _Iruka ? (?)_

 _?_

" _Nothing for level…. And do I really not know his last name? No, I guess I don't. What does this mean? Either he's too strong to 'observe,' or I don't know him well enough to determine anything more. I'll have to experiment later."_

"Hello, everyone. Before we begin, I just want to say one thing," Iruka announced, gathering everyone's attention." Congratulations. From here on, you enter the world of ninja. This world will not be a forgiving one. You will not have us to stop a fight. You will not have us to push you to get stronger. That drive, now, has to come from you. Take that seriously, because my greatest hope… is that you always make it back home." Shikamaru noted Iruka's eyes tearing up as they lingered on Naruto as he said the last bit. Iruka cleared his throat before continuing. "Become strong, so that these weaker than you can live and become strong, so that those weaker than they can live and become strong as well."

Iruka coughed into his hand, pausing as he watched his words go in and out of most of his students' ears. He took a deep and then held up the clipboard in his hand. "Thank you. So, now, all of you will now be divided into groups of three and assigned to a jounin, who will become your sensei. When I call your name, please gather together and wait- they will be here shortly. Now: Team Rho will be Ami Saito, Akio Kohaku, and Kazuo Tono. Your sensei will be Iroha Hyuga. Team Sigma will be…"

Shikamaru yawned and rested his head on his arms. _"This could take a while…"_ He waited as Iruka worked his way through the class until only a handful remained. At some point, he had returned to numbers for team names. "Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzaka. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9…"

Shikamaru grinned. _"So that's why dad was grilling me this morning. I was right about the teams."_

"Team 10 will be Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."

"Thanks, Iruka," a booming voice cut in. Shikamaru jerked his eyes over to the door as a fairly tall man with broad shoulders, brown eyes, a beard, and sun-kissed skin poked his head through the door. "Team 10, meet me outside by the swings." With that, the mysterious jounin disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Shikamaru glanced at his new teammates, who were each looking at the others, confused. He stretched his arms and stood up.

"You heard him. Let's go."

…

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji soon found themselves sitting on the ground in front of the swings, their sensei rocking back and forth in silence, smoking a cigarette. His hair was cut short but leapt up in spikes. He wore standard blue shinobi pants and a long-sleeved blue undershirt, with bandages wrapping tightly around his bulky biceps. A forest-green flak vest hugged snugly around his stocky torso; Shikamaru knew immediately that their new sensei was extremely gifted at close combat. He cast a silent _"Observe"_ and was rewarded with… nothing.

 _Asuma Sarutobi (?)_

 _?_

Shikamaru peeked at his teammates, and noticed them faring the same as he, sitting upright and tense with apprehension.

"I guess introductions are in order," the jounin murmured. "Bear with me. My name is Asuma Sarutobi. I am a jounin, and new to teaching new genin, so if I do not explain something well enough, please let me know. If you would introduce yourselves, please?"

"Shikamaru Nara." He turned to Choji next to him, who shook the cobwebs out of his head and continued on. "I am Choji Akimichi."

"Ino… Yamanaka."

Asuma smiled warmly and stood up. "Wonderful! It's a pleasure to meet you all. Let's go ahead and cut right to the chase. You are all now genin… almost. There is still one final test to make it onto the team."

Shikamaru sighed, while Choji and Ino gasped. "Another test? But we just took a ton of tests! What else could there be?" she shouted.

Asuma grinned. "Just because you passed the test doesn't mean you have what it takes to be a ninja."

Shikamaru sighed. "What are we supposed to do for the test, Asuma-sensei?"

"It's fairly simple, and we begin right now! Team 10, follow me!" Asuma took off to the east, leaving his three students behind in his dust.

Shikamaru let out a deep sigh as they bounded after their instructor. _"This is going to be such a drag…"_ He frowned as a blue flash appeared in front of him once again.

 **Quest: Get Yourself Tested! Pass Asuma-sensei's challenge and become a genin. Reward: 500 EXP. Reward: ? Accept?**

Shikamaru nodded at the screen, and it disappeared in a flash. He looked at his teammates, and then tried to see his sensei up ahead as he disappeared into the distance. They began panting as they sprinted down the road to try and catch up.

They raced eastward, past the edge of the village and into a bit of forest still within the great walls, only keeping track of their sensei from the trail of smoke coming from his cigarette. They finally reached a clearing in the trees, where Asuma was sitting in the lotus position on top a large stump in the center. He nodded in welcome as they finally arrived. "We're going to have to work on your speed."

Shikamaru panted as he sat down, noting how his stamina drained by half from running so hard. Asuma stood up and stretched. "So. To become a genin, you have to reach above the requirements of the academy. I'm here to test your drive, to see if any of you have the strength to make it."

Ino gasped. "Any of us? You mean…"

Asuma nods. "Exactly. It's possible that none of you will continue on. If you fail, you will be going back to the academy."

Shikamaru sighed. "Uh, sensei… I hate to be like this, but I kind of already know about the teamwork test. It's only fair to tell you."

Asuma blinked in surprise. "You do?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. It's to see if we have both the strength and teamwork necessary to function as a genin team. It's a test of our skills, but mainly a test of whether we put the team or ourselves first. Only full teams are admitted as genin."

Asuma sat back down, his enthusiasm deflated. "Well, that takes the fun out of it. I guess now that you all know, we'll have to change things a bit." Asuma reached into the pouch on his hip and took out two bladed steel knuckles that he slipped his fingers into. "Let's have the test anyways. Only this time, I want to get a good feel for where your skills are, so I think I won't hold back as much as I normally might. Make sure you go all out- I haven't decided yet if I'll take you three on yet."

Shikamaru gulped. _"This could be bad. He says he won't hold back as much? This will be really bad. We might not pass this after all."_ "Choji! Ino!" They glanced at him, nerves visible on their faces. He leaped backwards, and they followed suite, each pulling out a kunai.

Asuma chuckled. "Off to a good start. So! Let's set some rules. This will be a test of your combat skills! Your objective is to land a good hit on me once. You have two minutes." He pressed a button on his watch. "And the clock begins. You might want to come at me with the intent to kill- anything less, and you won't ever come close."

" _Two minutes?! Crap crap crap think think think, no, wait, Choji!"_

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" The world exploded in front of them as a giant fist slammed into the ground where their sensei had been standing. "Shoot, I missed," he muttered.

As the dust began to settle, Shikamaru made out a shape perched above the silhouette of Choji's arm. "Choji, he's standing on your fist!"

"Really? I didn't feel anything…" Choji shouted as he shakes his arm to and fro. Shikamaru watches as the shape doesn't seem affected by the movement and doesn't stir the dust.

"He's not real! Clone! Get to cover!" Shikamaru shouted. The trio took off towards the edge of the clearing only for their sensei to reappear in front of them, the clone behind them fading into nothingness. They slammed to a halt, Choji letting his jutsu dissipate and returning his arm to normal. Asuma widened his feet and pulled his knife-enclosed fists up into a combat stance.

"You don't think I'll just let you leave, do you? I haven't really started!" Asuma's grin disappeared, and his eyes hardened. Suddenly, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru all felt the air thicken and the weight of hopelessness closing in around them.

" _He's way out of our league… I know he doesn't expect us to beat him- he even said it's a test. But how do we get a hit on him? It's impossible! No, no, no, we can't…"_ Shikamaru felt his panic rising as his brain floundered to come up with a plan. _"Can't, Can't, No…"_ Suddenly, his train of thought jerked to a halt before seeming to reboot. _"What the… it has to be the game. I can think now. Okay! Ino and Choji are still frozen. I'll have to snap them out of it."_

"Ino, get behind him and attack from a distance. Choji, be ready for my signal. Time's running out. Engage! Now!" Ino took a deep breath and took off. Choji shook his head before giving Shikamaru a thumbs up before surprising Asuma by attacking head on with a massive fist. Ino leapt over them and tried to skewer their sensei with kunai. Asuma blocked Choji's first strike with his forearm only to have his instincts go on high alert as Shikamaru closed in from a blind spot behind his rotund friend's enlarged arm with a kunai.

Asuma started smiling widely, realizing that this might be more fun than he thought. He spun, grabbing Choji by his arm and using it to knock Shikamaru away, and then spat out his cigarette, which miraculously deflected the first kunai and somehow knocked the entire barrage off course. At any other time, the genin might have been impressed, but at the moment they were a little distracted by the jounin coming towards them. Asuma slammed Choji head first into the dirt before taking a spinning leap back to avoid Shikamaru's tossed kunai.

Shikamaru panted as he checked his stats, seeing that he barely had any stamina points left after running earlier and now moving at high speed in combat. Shikamaru charged ahead while a dazed Choji slowly struggled to his feet. Ino sprinted around the edge of the cleaning while throwing the occasional shuriken to keep Asuma distracted. The Nara thrust his fist directly at his sensei's face, making him sigh at the telegraphed attack before retaliating by slamming an elbow into his gut. His fist flew right through the genin-to-be but it bursts into smoke, revealing it to be a block of wood. Asuma's eyes widen as his body suddenly freezes.

"Shadow Bind: Complete. Now, Choji!"

Asuma looked up to see a gigantic bowling ball rolling towards him. "Human Boulder Jutsu!" He started fighting against the paralysis, but Shikamaru had him tightly bound. Choji smashed into him with tons of force… only for him to disappear and be replaced with a log.

Shikamaru groaned as he falls forward to his knees, his chakra over half spent. _"I have to figure out how this chakra control works… Just using the shadow bind once took almost half my chakra, and holding it for three seconds drained me to where I can only use the shadow bind one more time right now."_ He pulled himself up as the trio gathers back together, forming a triangle formation as their eyes darted around the clearing, searching for their sneaky sensei.

A small caress of wind was all they felt before Asuma reappeared in the midst of them. They spun around, but were too slow. The first hit shot Choji away like cannonball. The second hit knocked Ino straight down into the ground, her body bouncing against the earth before the third hit kicked her away to the other edge of the cleaning. Shikamaru slammed his hands together and cast the Shadow Bind Jutsu, but Asuma tore right through it and punched Shikamaru so hard he spun around four times before landing in a heap.

Stunned, the team struggled to stand back up, with only Choji making it back to his feet. Shikamaru stared at his character screen in awe; a single hit from Asuma had drained him down from 152 HP (… _Wait, why 152?)_ to 14 HP. He felt his mind clamp down on the panic again and shook away the shock. He forced himself up on his knees, still unable to fully stand. Choji stood between their sensei and his best friend, ready to shield him as long as he could.

Asuma tensed as if to charge, then relaxed and puts his knives away a second before his watch alarm went off. "Two minutes are up. Let's chat." He walked back over to the stump they first saw him on and sat down. Choji blinked twice before falling backwards, his body still not recovered from Asuma's punch to his gut. Shikamaru pulled himself up onto his feel, seeing that Ino was finally up as well. The two pulled a gasping Choji up, and they shuffled themselves over to their sensei and collapsed on the ground in front of him.

Asuma smiled wistfully. "Sorry about that, I might have gone a little overboard at the end, there." The three groaned in response, causing him to scratch his cheek in embarrassment. "But, hey! As a whole you did better than I thought you would do!"

"Better? But you totally trashed us!" Ino whines. "We couldn't scratch you. And you thought we would do even _worse_?!"

"Well, let's put it in perspective. You three have been out of the academy for about thirty minutes. I have been out of the academy for fifteen years. On top of which, you know nothing about my abilities, while I know all about your clan techniques. It was an impossible task, but it sounded simple enough to you that you would go for it with the hope that you could succeed." Asuma pulled out a new cigarette from a silver case in his front pocket and flicked open his lighter before continuing. "As for how you did, with that in mind… you pass."

The trio gaped in shock as Asuma calmly lit his cigarette. "You clearly anticipated being on a team together, seeing how you trust each other in battle already and have a strong understanding of your fighting styles. You have the basics down. And you managed to catch my shadow, which I didn't think you'd be able to do since I was watching for it but I never saw you replace yourself and hide." Asuma took a deep pull on his cigarette before blowing smoke straight up into the air. "So, you three know each other, but you don't know me and I don't know you. How about we go and celebrate! Lunch, on me."

Choji cheered, Ino just nodded dumbly, and Shikamaru just stared at his new teacher with empty eyes. Asuma noticed this and frowned. "So, uh, Choji, Ino, would you mind going ahead and getting us a table at Takiniku Q? There's something I need to talk to Shikamaru about first."

"YAY! BARBEQUE!" Choji shouted. Choji grabbed Ino by the arm and took off like a rocket towards the village, her screams of protest disappearing as they ran off through the forest.

Shikamaru stared at his sensei quizzically while Asuma took another drag before cutting to the chase about what he wanted to talk to him about. "So… Shikaku told me you were more gifted than he was at your age, but I didn't believe him until you surprised me with that replacement technique. Let me guess- it was when I hit you with Choji and I leapt back. I didn't have a clear line of sight so you stayed behind him and I never thought about it since I could see your clone off to the side, and wasn't expecting you to pull off something so smoothly."

Shikamaru nodded. "I couldn't think of anything creative, so I just used the most logical jutsu I could that would give me a second to catch your shadow."

"Nicely done. The technique I hit you with at the beginning was my focusing a small amount of killing intent on you three. It's a technique I intend to teach you before our first mission outside the village so you know how to fight it. How were you were able to snap out of it? I know your parents didn't teach you, because I asked them this morning before coming to the academy."

Shikamaru took a deep breath before coming up with an answer. "I'm… not sure. I was panicking, but then my mind just became calm and I knew what we needed to do."

"… Interesting. Your mind could be operating so quickly that it out-processed the stimuli of the intent and responded with the most logical response, which was to continue the fight." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it out under his boot. "The reason I wanted to talk to you is that I'd like for you to take the official I.Q. test, the one that goes in your shinobi portfolio. Your dad asked me to hold off, but from what I just saw, it needs to be there in case you serve under a different team leader, who will need to see a more accurate depiction of your skills."

Shikamaru frowned. _"I'm pretty sure it was the game that took over earlier, the Gamer's Mind ability, not my IQ or something like that. I need to read through the ability descriptions this afternoon."_ "If you think it's necessary, I'll do it. It'll be such a drag, though."

Asuma laughed. "It could be, if people start requesting you for missions, but as your sensei I have final say in who gets access to you until you become a chunin or the Hokage overrules me. There's not a big rush. It just has to be sometime between now and the end of the summer. We have three or four months to worry about it."

"Sensei, I have a quick question. Ugh, how do phrase this… How much were you honestly holding back?" Shikamaru blurted out. "When you hit me, that one time… I…"

Asuma sighed before answering. "Honestly, Shikamaru? I did not add any chakra, nor did I attempt to put any extra strength behind those hits. I'd say… On a scale of one to a hundred of how hard I can hit, that was about a… five."

The color drained from the genin's face. _"Five percent… he could have made my health hit zero with one hit at only five percent of his strength. Would I… would I die if my HP hit zero, or would I just be knocked out? Either way… I'm way too weak to even have a chance in a fight. I have to get stronger."_

Shikamaru stirred from his thoughts as Asuma clapped him gently on the shoulder. "You know… I recognize that expression on your face. When it was on mine, my father broke out laughing and held up a mirror so I could see myself. I had challenged him to a spar as a chunin, and he demolished me. I felt like an ant compared to him. He even used ninjutsu I didn't know were even possible to do. The worst thing was, he was technically retired at the time, while I was on active duty."

"He sounds really strong."

"He should be. He's the Sandaime Hokage."

Everything clicked into place. "Wait… You're…"

Asuma chuckled. "Yeah. Let's go meet Ino and Choji and share our stories there. I'll have to tell them this, too. I don't know about you, but I was running late and forgot to eat breakfast this morning," Asuma suggested. He stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking down the path. As Shikamaru stood up, he noticed a little blue box in the corner of his eye:

 **Quest Complete: Get Yourself Tested! Reward: 500 EXP. New Title Received: [Genin].**

…

Shikamaru smirked at Asuma's expression when they walk into Takiniku Q. The host, recognizing Choji as a member of the Akimichi clan, had seated them at a table normally reserved for parties of eight or more. Why? Because the other grills wouldn't be big enough. Choji already had half of the grill dedicated to long short ribs marinated in soy and the other half to thick slices of pork belly. Asuma and Shikamaru sat down at the giant table as the server brought them over cups for the fresh pot of tea Ino had ordered. "So… Kind of a big table for just the four of us, isn't it?" Asuma laughed.

Ino paled and gripped his arm. "Don't say words like big or fat," she whispered. "Choji's not as nice when he's angry."

Asuma blinked and looked between her and Choji, who was laser-focused on the meat caramelizing on the charcoal grills. "Oh, no, I wasn't saying anything like that. These tables are usually just reserved for bigger parties."

Shikamaru chuckled. "There are certain words we avoid when we're all together. You'll learn them quickly. Anyways, sensei… what were you about to tell me about your story?"

"Oh, right! So, now that we're officially a team, we should get to know each other. We'll be seeing each other almost every day, so the more we know about each other, the more we'll be able to understand and help each other. So I figured we could share a little of our stories, and a little about our hopes and aspirations! Who wants to go first?" Asuma said with a giant smile. He waited for a moment until he noticed the sound of crickets in the background. "… Okay, I guess I'll start."

"My name is Asuma, of the Sarutobi clan. I've been a shinobi for fifteen years, and was officially made a jounin two years ago. My father is Hizuren, the Sandaime Hokage. My mother - Biwako - passed away twelve years ago. The knives you saw me wearing earlier were a gift she gave me when I became a genin; they had been hers before she retired. They've been through a lot, but they're made from an extremely dense alloy that was infused with a lot of chakra, so they're as good as new, even after twenty-five years of total use in the field. Yes, I smoke, and no, I won't quit. Dad's doing fine, and he smokes his pipe every day. I can even use the smoke for some of my jutsu. Anyone want to give it a try? How about you, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru passed his plate over to Choji, who began serving everyone. Hungry the Akimichi could be, but even they recognized the importance of their teammates enjoying their fill. "Alright… My father is Shikaku, and he works with the Hokage." _"I'm not supposed to say his actual title in public…"_ "My mother is Yoshino, and she retired as a chunin five years ago to stay at home." _"The Hidden Stone found out her relationship to my father and began sending in fake missions asking for her by name in an attempt to gain retribution against the man who created the strategy the Fourth Hokage executed to win the last war. It was bad enough that she had to stay in the village, and stayed home to protect me."_

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "As a member of the Nara clan, I can manipulate shadows to hold an enemy in place. It takes a lot of chakra, though, and I'm not strong enough yet to use it many times in battle. I like to watch the clouds pass by in the sky sometimes, especially when Choji joins in."

Ino snorted as she sipped her tea. "Sometimes? More like always. My turn. I'm Ino Yamanaka! My father is Inoichi, and he works in Information." _"Torture and Interrogation."_ "My mother is a florist, and runs our family's flower shop. I can use the Yamanaka's Mind-Transfer Jutsu to take control of my enemy's mind from a distance! Outside of that, I like arranging flowers with my mom, and will one day marry Sasuke!"

Asuma choked a little. "Oh, does Sasuke know this?"

"Not yet, but he will!"

Asuma chuckled before turning to Choji and freezing in shock. Choji had already finished off all the rest of the meat on the grill and had the entire thing covered in a second course of short ribs and pork belly, just cooking away. Asuma patted his wallet in his pocket and winced. "Ah, so, Choji, what about you?"

"Mprh." Choji swallowed his last bite of rice and sat tall. "My name… is Choji Akimichi! My father is Choza, the Great Tank of Konoha! My mother is Kaede, and she works as a chef. My dream is to prove to the world that I can be a great ninja, even though I'm big-boned!"

Shikamaru glanced at their sensei and they continued their meal. "Sensei, you said you became a jounin two years ago, but you seem more powerful than most. Were you in ANBU?"

Asuma chuckled. "Not exactly, although if I had been, I couldn't tell you anyways." He reached under the table and pulled out the sash he was wearing on his hip, showing them the symbol. "About eight years ago, I accepted an offer from the daimyo to join the Twelve Ninja Guardians of the Land of Fire. We were bodyguards for him and his family, but we were also the only shinobi force directly under his control that could operate outside the confines of the Hidden Leaf. I thought I had been strong, but on my first day I got my ass handed to me by a monk, who later became my closest friend. I grew up there, became strong, and, once I finally understood what it was my father was trying to teach me when I was younger, I came home."

"That… makes more sense," Shikamaru finally said. "You're so strong I'm surprised that you aren't more famous within the village."

"Ha!" Asuma barked. "Honestly? I don't make the top ten in the village as far as power. But I did earn myself a nice little thirty-five million bounty, furnished by the Land of Silence's daimyo. I'm still not even sure what I did to deserve it. That's something we actually need to talk about; because of the bounty, won't be leaving the village on any missions for a while."

"Eh? But where will we do missions at, sensei?" Choji asked.

Asuma grinned. "Here, in the village. Villagers always have things that need to be done, and they submit requests for ninja to help them. It was an original idea of the First Hokage, intended to break that barrier between civilian and shinobi so that both could live together in peace. It also helps build friendships and relationships within the village, something that strengthens our desire to protect those who can't protect themselves. Since there are always missions like those, classed as "d-rank" missions, we'll start with those after you learn how to do some essential shinobi basics. While you all have potential, you aren't ready for combat with enemy shinobi yet, or even armed mercenaries, and there's a chance that we'll encounter a powerful bounty hunter who thinks the price on my head is worth risking the wrath of Konoha. So, we need to build up your strength before we even think of traveling anywhere."

"Surely there aren't that many bounty hunters that are strong enough to risk going up against a jounin from a major village," Shikamaru commented.

"I've faced three this spring, one just last week. The first two were B-rank defectors from the Land of Lightning, two brothers. The one last week was a one-eyed A-ranked ninja from the Land of Water that spotted me somehow from two miles away and tried to trap me. He eventually gave up and ran and I got in some good hits, but if he had stayed and fought to the end, I might be talking to you from a hospital bed. If at all."

"… I stand corrected." Shikamaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _"An A-rank enemy just last week? I have to get a lot stronger a lot faster, or I'm not going to make it through the summer. Or worse, Ino and Choji won't."_

The four teammates stayed and chatted for about an hour, conversation and supply of hot barbeque slowly winding down. Asuma cringed when he received the bill, but paid quietly before going outside.

"Team 10…Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Asuma said sternly. The genin stood at attention. "We will meet at 12:00 PM tomorrow at the same clearing in the woods that we trained at today. Come prepared for training. Standard new genin team procedure is to spend the first ten days straight in physical conditioning and technique training, then two days off. We will then begin accepting D-rank missions. At that point in time, we will determine our weekly agenda at a case-by-case basis, centered around what missions we are assigned. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Wonderful. I look forward to working with you. Dismissed!" With that, Asuma disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Ino started laughing the second he was gone.

"We totally have the strongest sensei! Forehead girl's not gonna stand a chance!" she cackled. She turned to her teammates and put her hands on her hips. "And you two better not slow me down, you hear?"

Shikamaru chuckled. _"More like her slow us down…"_ "Yeah, yeah, Ino. Don't be so annoying."

Ino huffed and walked away. Choji just ignored her and pulled out a bag of chips. Shikamaru groaned. "Choji, man, we just finished eating!" he said, exasperated. "You're going to be miserable during training if you keep eating chips all the time."

"Aww, Shikamaru, don't be like that. I'll be okay," Choji whined. "I have to stay full so I can use my jutsu!" He rapidly polished off the bag of chips and dusted the salt off his hands. "Mmm. What are you going to do tonight, man? Want to hang out?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sorry, Choji, not today. I want to get some stuff taken care of before tomorrow." The two bumped fists and parted. Once Choji out of sight, his frown deepened and he let out a giant sigh. _"Man, what a drag. I knew the world of ninja was a dangerous one, but I never imagined the gap between a genin and a jounin could be so high. If we get attacked by ninja of any rank right now… Ino, Choji, and I would be dead. I can't let that happen. I knew life wouldn't be so simple, but maybe it's simpler than I thought: get stronger, or die."_

His mind flipped back to the game, that which he hadn't really been able to understand yet. There was no rational explanation for what he was experiencing. At first, he thought it was a genjutsu, but it clearly wasn't. Then, with everything that happened today, he had played with it a little, but pushed it off to the side. Now, with the day's events behind him, maybe he could figure out a little more, and maybe he could try and understand out what he was experiencing.

…

Shikamaru stood alone in his family's training grounds, located a mile deep in the woods behind the Nara clan manor. He took a deep breath of fresh air tinged with the aroma of pine, then sat down in the lotus position and placed his hands together in a closed circle. His father had taught him this trick- it was a hand seal for a jutsu, though not one that could channel chakra. It was rather a technique that centered the mind – when one completes the seal and centers the self, one can clear the mind and enter a state of complete calm. He would need all of his focus to figure anything out about this game, and it was even more imperative now since he had just noticed something that might draw attention; the bruises on his chest were disappearing quickly as his HP bar refilled from the damage Asuma dealt him. If he broke an arm, he would have some explaining to do if he healed up before the end of the day.

Shikamaru ran through his memories, trying to recall all the little images he experienced when he first encountered the game. He focused in on the first few moments he encountered it, in a world of total darkness. _"So. It's like a game. Every game should have instructions. But how do I access them? I'm sitting here thinking about seeing the instructions, and nothing appears. Maybe I haven't experienced yet what I want to see. I have to find it first. The first screen… was New Game. Shinobi Quest, version… wait, how could I miss that? Version 3.0? That implies that there have been other versions, maybe even other players."_

Shikamaru exited his pose and took out a notepad, making sure to jot down all of his observations for later review. "One: Version 3.0 implies other versions, and other gamers." He returned to his pose, this time turning to the next screen he saw. _"'Due to predetermined conditions, your character statistics cannot be changed.' That implies that I was not a part of the game beforehand, and that the game adopted me into it, reconfiguring my skills as a ninja so that I fit its' predetermined rules. That information was then distributed into the different screens. They appeared in a certain order, but are connected. I'll return to that. The game interpreted my abilities in its own way… that would explain why I'm no longer able to perform my clan techniques as often as I used to. My control over Yin chakra but not other chakra techniques made little sense to the game mechanics, and thus it now falls under the general category of chakra control. That also explains how I was able to learn the exploding tag technique so quickly this morning._ "Two: the game adopted me into it and 'changed' me as it needed to; I have not always been a part of the game. Three: The game has a more general understanding of the mechanics of jutsu, making it easier to use some techniques but more difficult than others."

" _Back to the different screens. The game filtered what it interpreted my abilities and physical state to be and turned them into numerical data. All of the different screens are reading the same thing: me. So, there should be a way to see all those screens in one place, a central place, a hub or home."_ Shikamaru opened his eyes and was pleased to finally see a blue screen directly in front of him with two words at the top: "Main Menu."

 **Main Menu**

 _Character_

 _Inventory_

 _Attributes_

 _Jutsu_

 _Journal_

 _Options_

"Four: there is a main menu from which the major categories descend." Shikamaru jotted down his note before turning to the new options he hadn't seen before. _"Journal… This might be it."_ The Journal screen carried with it a submenu with some lines currently filled by question marks. Only four were visible: "Quests," "Recipes," "Dungeons," and "Characters." He selected the "characters" screen, which pulled up a sub-category of places on which the only one he could read was "Konoha." He selected Konoha and realized that everyone he knew was listed, but that the only information he could see was what he had witnessed through his Observe ability so far. He exited and look under dungeon, but no information was listed. He returned to Recipes and noticed that while most weren't available, there was one thing he could create.

"[Explosive Kunai]… Okay, lets try this. Ingredients: one explosive tag, one standard kunai. What am I supposed to do next, wrap it around the handle?" Shikamaru moved to attach the tag when suddenly both items turned translucent and shot between his hands, merging in a flash of light. Shikamaru snatched the explosive kunai out of the air and used Observe.

 _Standard Explosive Kunai (1). Can explode at a distance after being thrown. Item effect is contingent upon Kunai jutsu level and Explosive Tag Release jutsu level. (Craft Level 1 Req.) (1x Kunai + 1x Explosive Tag)_

Shikamaru put it into his inventory and took a look at the blue window that popped up when he created the item. _"Learned: Craft (Level 1). By combining ingredients, one can create new items. One must have the recipe recorded in the journal to create the new item. (CP: 5)."_ Shikamaru quickly took out more ingredients and made a total of five [Explosive Kunai] before closing his inventory and returning to the Journal screen.

"One left: Quests." The quest menu had three tabs: 'In Progress,' 'Completed,' and 'Failed.' Shikamaru glanced at his 'In Progress' tab and noticed two new quests, the windows for which he hadn't seen pop up during the day:

 **Tutorial: Game On! Learn the basics of what it means to be 'The Gamer.' Rewards: 300 EXP, 1 AP.**

 **Tutorial: Tally-Ho! Reverse engineer the formulas used to tally Health Points, Chakra Points, Stamina Points, and Chakra Control. Rewards: 4 AP.**

Shikamaru paused, tempted to try and solve the puzzle of the formulas, but then dismissed the screen. He didn't have enough information to solve them in an acceptable amount of time. He returned to the main menu and selected "Options." These were mostly 'on' or 'off' settings regarding notifications and pop-up windows. He switched a majority of them to 'off,' already having noticed how annoying they could be while he's in the middle of something. There was one switch that intrigued him: _"Enable Status Screen: On / Off."_ Shikamaru switched it to on, then murmured "Status." A smaller screen popped up that only showed his HP, CP, and SP, rather than the full collection of statistics.

Filing that useful find away for later, Shikamaru waved all the screens away and jotted down some of his findings before turning to his "Attributes" page.

 **Attributes**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP & CP recovery rate continues during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities, evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom._

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to base stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%."_

"Okay," Shikamaru murmured. _"The first two: Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind. The Body explains how my bruises from Asuma-sensei's attack are already fading, and how I feel at least okay after being so close to zero HP, which I assume equates death, only five hours ago. Gamer's Mind explains the sudden switches to calm during the fight."_ He perused the rest of the list. _"Playing with Fire explains why my HP shot up to 149 during the fight with Asuma-sensei. All my base stats increased by 10, which impacted my HP."_

Shikamaru dismissed the attributes screen and ignored the page of attributes for sale, knowing he couldn't afford any anyways. He instead pulled up his 'character' screen.

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: [Team 10] (+10% EXP gained for ninjutsu)_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: [Genin] (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 8_

 _EXP: 500 / 867_

 _HP: 122 / 122_

 _CP: 78 / 78_

 _SP: 22 / 22_

 _STR: 2_

 _VIT: 8_

 _DEX: 9_

 _INT: 55_

 _WIS: 15_

 _LUK: 0_

 _Chakra Control: 38%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute_

 _SP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

" _My title and rank changed… and the boost is different. Instead of more stamina, my title now affects rapport, which is something I haven't discovered yet."_ Shikamaru looked more closely at the title and noticed how there seemed to be brackets of some kind around it on the screen. He reached out and poked it, and a menu appeared with two options: [Genin] and [Academy Graduate]; he was able to switch between the two. He left it at [Genin], not wanting to lose the title he had worked towards the past several years. _"So things that appear on the menus like they're inset around the edges are in fact equip-able or changeable items."_

He picked up his notepad and analyzed the numbers making up HP, CP, SP, and CC. _"Okay. I have to keep in mind that they are equations, and that they have been affected by attributes, like the ones that added points to HP, INT, and WIS. They can also be impacted by what I'm wearing, although those aren't the permanent numbers. It would make sense for Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity to all come together to impact health. I'll write that down for now…"_

Shikamaru jotted down his musings so far and moved on to chakra points. _"Compared to SP, my CP is extremely high. The only other statistic that's extremely high is Intelligence, so that likely plays into it. Chakra is the fusion of spiritual and physical energies, so let's run the numbers with vitality and intelligence… they add up to 63… which is 15, my Wisdom, away from 78."_

Shikamaru stretched and leaned his back up against one of the training posts. _"Chakra control… this is the one that makes the least sense. Which means it's a more complex equation. It is also a percentage, which implies division. The more chakra one has, the more difficult it is to control… so I can assume that my total CP is on the bottom of that equation. Everything else, I'll have to see changes in those numbers to figure them out."_

He reviewed his scribbled notes and summarized what he knew. _"To increase my health, chakra, stamina, and control, I have to increase my base stats, whether through equipment or training. It's all interconnected, but there must be something to the formulas that I don't have the data to figure out yet. I'll likely increase my stats as I grow in levels."_

Shikamaru stood up and stretched. "Now it's time to figure out jutsu…"

"What ya workin' on?"

Shikamaru squeaked and spun around. Yoshino Nara immediately burst out laughing. "Mom, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Yoshino walked over and set a small bag down next to the training post. "You've been out here a while, thought you might want a snack." She paused then walked over and wrapped her indignant son up in a quick hug. "I'm glad you're training on your own. I get nervous about you sometimes when I only see you watching the clouds."

Shikamaru calmed down and returned the hug. "I know, mom. Asuma-sensei destroyed us today, and he said he only used five percent of his strength."

Yoshino smirked. "He's also Asuma Sarutobi. There's a reason he's in charge of you, Ino, and Choji- you three are targets because you are direct heirs to your clans, and since Asuma knows what it's like to be targeted, it made perfect sense for your father to select him out of anyone else in the Sarutobi clan." She took her outer jacket off and stood in the training ground in a simple pair of training slacks and sleeveless shirt.

"You came out here to train?" Shikamaru asked, surprised.

Yoshino grinned. "You know, I used to be fairly strong. I usually train out here in the afternoons before you two come home, but today I got caught up and didn't get here as early. I was on track to make jounin before your dad and I decided it would be best if one of us retired. The Sandaime said no to Shikaku leaving the force, which left me."

"Dad was willing to retire?"

"… Is that a serious question? Your father would love to not have to work."

"… Right. So do you need me to leave?"

Yoshino smiled warmly at him. "I'd prefer it if you didn't. I've never had the chance to train with you besides teaching you explosive tags this morning. I haven't had that much fun in a long time!" Shikamaru started sweating as he remembered his mother demonstrating how to set explosive tags and detonating nearly two-dozen just for one example. "So, if you'd like… what were you working on? Maybe I can help."

Shikamaru sighed, before coming up with something that was partially true. "Jutsu. I could only use the Shadow Bind twice this morning before Asuma-sensei beat us. It drained most of my chakra, and the second time it wasn't strong enough to even slow him down."

Yoshino stared at him for a moment before a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. "Well, Asuma will teach you control exercises. How about a new jutsu? I've been bugging your dad to teach you the Shadow Imitation Jutsu for three months now. Has he even mentioned it to you?"

"The Shadow Imitation Jutsu? No, never. I know it exists, but nothing else."

Yoshino gave her son a toothy smile. "I think it is fair game at this point if he hasn't taught you yet. Want to learn it?"

Shikamaru blinked. _"The Shadow Imitation Jutsu? That could be useful… it doesn't help with my chakra and control problems, but it would definitely enhance my abilities in a fight."_ "Yes! Teach me!"

Yoshino sat down and waved for him to do the same. "This is more advanced, so let's break the technique down into theory first. So, you know the Shadow Bind Jutsu. What does it do?"

"I use my shadow as a medium for my chakra and extend the shadow across any solid surface that would reflect a shadow. I then latch onto my target's shadow and infuse it with my chakra. As it is connected to my target's movement, by controlling the shadow, the target has to stay in the same position, as 'their' shadow becomes 'my shadow' to control." Shikamaru theorized.

Yoshino paused. "That's… partially correct. Look at that tree over to the right. Can you control its' shadow?"

Shikamaru paused. "No, it doesn't work on plants. Only humans and animals."

"If you control the shadow, can you move the shadow to the other side of the tree?"

"No, that would be… Oh."

"Yeah. The shadow isn't what you latch on to; it's just the medium for the jutsu, just like your own shadow is the medium. Your chakra makes tangible the darkness through the connection of the shadow to your self. Without a self, the shadow cannot be manipulated, whether your own or another's. The trail that you see when you extend your shadow isn't a new shadow- it's you manipulating your own. Your range is dependent on the shadows you have access to- your own, or any you come into contact with. When you reach your target's shadow, their shadow becomes the medium by which you access their body."

"Then… how does the jutsu make them freeze?"

"This is why the Nara clan is the only clan to manipulate shadows like this and why the clan is known for high degrees of intelligence. It's a jutsu that manipulates raw space.

"Raw space?"

"The Nidaime and Yondaime Hokages were both known as the fastest shinobi of their generation. While their speed was part of it, that name really comes from their capabilities in space-time jutsu. The Nidaime created a technique that enables instant teleportation, which the Yondaime refined to a frightening level…"

"The Flying Thunder God Jutsu," Shikamaru breathed. Yoshino nodded.

"The Nidaime would likely not have been able to create the jutsu without the assistance of the newest members of the village- the Nara clan. Your great-grandfather was renowned for his brilliance and craftiness. Annoyed at having to knock out the deer the clan cared for every time he needed them to stay still, he created a jutsu that enabled him to simply catch then release them as necessary. In all honesty, the Shadow Bind is a technique borne out of laziness," Yoshino joked. "You don't even have to understand the theory behind it because the clan teaches the basic technique to children at a young age when their imaginations are most vivid and they are able to get a feel for this without necessarily understanding it. The original technique gave rise to the Nara clan's famous techniques. Your grandfather enhanced the shape manipulation and added yang chakra to his shadows, creating some of the physical techniques, like the Shadow Sewing Jutsu. Your father further refined them both, creating the Shadow Imitation Jutsu and other techniques that utilize both yin and yang chakra."

Shikamaru nodded as he jotted down some of the history in his notes to review later. Yoshino waited for him to catch up before continuing. "Now. The Shadow Bind works by using shape manipulation to imbue your shadow with Yin chakra and extend it. Once you come into contact with the target's shadow, you imbue it with yin chakra as well, creating a bridge. This is where the space manipulation comes in. So, when you imbue the target's shadow with your chakra, is that all the chakra you have to use the jutsu?"

Shikamaru paused. "… Yes, but I might have to send more chakra through the link."

"Wrong," Yoshino sang. "Try again, but this time think about the carrot I dangled in front of you."

Shikamaru ran through the sensation of the jutsu in his mind before coming to a startling realization. "Once I make contact with the shadow, I don't feel the chakra in the shadow anymore. It's like I'm directly connected to the target."

"Space manipulation eliminates the space between your shadow and your target's shadow, and allows for your shadow to encompass the target's. In other words, your shadow envelops the target's shadow, and they share the same space. In the Shadow Bind Jutsu, you use only yin chakra to manipulate your own shadow to bind the target's shadow, which renders their physical selves immobile. That is why you can't move while holding the Shadow Bind Jutsu. But with the elimination of space, and the application of a little yang chakra..."

Shikamaru frowned. "The possibilities of this jutsu sound a little extreme, of one has enough chakra and control."

"It takes a lot of concentration to hold the technique. And the Nara clan isn't known for its members having copious amounts of chakra to burn. Only a few of your cousins have had the capacity to learn the imitation jutsu. Most can only do the shadow bind. Same for me- I can't use the Shadow Imitation. Part of that's because I'm not a Nara by blood, so pure yin chakra stuff isn't as natural for me."

"Then how are you going to teach me?"

"The same way I helped your father create the technique," she answered frankly. "When I try to do it, it takes me like three minutes to make the connection, and I can't maintain it for very long because it's like looking in three directions at once. I can't use it like your dad can because my brain isn't fast enough to do it all quickly. Your brain, however, is. So my job is to help you get your brain to where you can do it all at once."

Shikamaru paused. _"This is… insane. And I thought Ino's family techniques were dangerous because of what they can do to the mind. This takes it to the extreme."_ "This whole jutsu is really… How do I say this… dark?"

Yoshino laughed. "I'm glad you realize that. The techniques haven't been invented yet, but your dad does have some theories about what's possible. He hasn't experimented because it's dangerous messing with control jutsu. Your great-grandfather refined his technique on deer the clan selected to eat. It is rumored that he perfected the technique to the extent that he could stop the deer's heart and brain activity on contact. Instant, painless kill. He never taught anyone that technique, likely because he realized its' nature and felt that anyone who progressed to that level would need to do so on their own understanding and merit, without using his advice."

"Why isn't dad's grandpa more famous? I've never really known he was so powerful."

"He didn't want fame, and only hit the battlefield once for Konoha. The Shodai Tsuchikage was so spooked by the reports of the shadow manipulation that he entered the battlefield himself and assassinated the shit out of him by summoning thousands of giant bees and then dropping a ball of lava the size of the hokage monument on him."

"… _Note to self: don't go advertising these jutsu in the Land of Earth. Lava and bees,"_ Shikamaru wrote in his journal. "Okay. So, I'm guessing the theory is complex, but once grasped, the practical portion is easier? Otherwise, dad wouldn't be able to use the jutsu like I've seen him use it."

"That is somewhat correct. Your mind has to handle controlling two bodies at once. It also takes a lot of chakra. You'll probably only be able to do it for a couple of seconds before having to recover until you're much better at control and more conditioned. I just want to teach you so you can get a feel for it and start thinking about the clan's jutsu at a higher level."

Yoshino yawned and stood up. "I'm sure you'll find the rest of the pieces by practicing. Most of the possibilities, I don't know of. There was never any reason for me to know more than the basics since I married in. The only reason I know the Shadow Bind and Imitation Jutsus so well is because your dad explained every step to me so I could give him feedback while I was his test subject."

Shikamaru started to picture his father learning to control his mother using the Shadow Imitation, but quickly shook that image out of his head and blushed. Yoshino coughed into her hand. "Anyways…" she continued. "You ready to learn a jutsu? Let's get up."

The two squared off from each other across the training field. "First things first!" she called. "The hand seal is the same. Think about what you're doing when you hit my shadow, then channel yang chakra and imagine closing the distance between your shadow and mine."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and put his hands together in the rat seal, feeling his chakra welling up. He focused on the soft, soothing feel of yin chakra as he sent it into his shadow. He opened his eyes and 'willed' the shadow (what he now learned was a child's understanding of shape manipulation) to stretch from him towards his mother, latching on to her shadow.

Shikamaru corrected himself. _"Okay. Now to feel what I've always done by instinct and see the spirit… there. It's like it's right in front of me, but it's not. Space manipulation by means of shadows… Man, this is hard. Where's the connection… Yang chakra… where does the yin and yang mix… THERE!"_ He let the jutsu drop, having found his target, as he felt his chakra level drop to about half.

Yoshino smiled warmly at him. "Good job. You found it. Now, remember- you've negated the space, so don't imagine what you're doing as being far from you. Next is the hard part- you're going to make the connection again, but this time, once you've found my shadow's connection to the body, connect your connection to mine in order to take control. Don't stop to think- just feel it out. We'll deal with the mind processing later. And whatever you do, don't try to cut or manipulate anything that has to do with my connection."

Shikamaru took a deep breath and extended his shadow one more time, this time not stopping to think at every step. With surprising ease, he found the connection to the body, and connected his own connection to his body to her connection. Yoshino gasped as she suddenly felt herself lose what little motor control she had had left under the bind. Shikamaru gasped as well as his pull of chakra bounced like a bad check and he hit zero. Yoshino stared at Shikamaru in awe as he stood gasping for breath, dealing with the aftereffects of using too much chakra. "… You got it on the first try," she said robotically. She shook her head to try and break through the shock. "We should celebrate! Let's go home and do something special tonight with dad!"

Shikamaru just sat down, panting. "Ha…. Ha… Thank you," he wheezed. "But… I think… I want to try… some other things… before coming in."

Yoshino walked over and ruffled his hair. "Good job, Shika. I'm so proud. Your dad's going to be surprised you figured it out so quickly. Don't stay out too late!" With that, she grabbed her jacket and took to the trees.

Shikamaru leaned on his back and turned his eyes to the sky, hoping to active _Head in the Clouds_ to try and recover some chakra. A glowing blue dot appeared in the corner of his vision, the minimized alerts already preventing the pop-ups from occurring outside his control. He lazily reached out and tried tapping it, causing it to let three different windows come into being.

 **Learned: Shadow Imitation Jutsu (Level 1). A Nara clan secret technique. The user reaches out with their shadow and forces the target's body to mimic the user's actions. (CP: 40, +3 per sec. of resistance per target.) (Range: M)**

 **Due to lessons on shadow manipulation theory, your have a deeper understanding of the Shadow Bind Jutsu! Level increased by 5 to 15.**

 **Tutorial Complete: Game On! Rewards: 300 EXP, 1 AP.**

…

Shikaku yawned as he strode up the steps to his home. The moon was bright in the night sky, reminding him of how long the day had been. He entered the kitchen and was surprised to find his wife sitting at the table, drinking from a cup of sake. She glanced up at him, waved hello, and poured him one. "Hey, honey."

Shikaku was extremely perplexed as he sat down. "Hey. What are you still doing up? It's after midnight," he asked as he sipped, before dropping his jaw in surprise. "You opened the junmai ginjo Hiruzen gave us last year?"

Yoshino grinned at him sleepily. "Mayyyybe. I wanted to celebrate with you."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "… Okay, then. What are we celebrating?"

Yoshino finished her cup and poured another. "… Remember how long it took you to learn the Shadow Imitation Jutsu?"

The jounin commander wasn't sure he wanted to know where this was going. "Two months in total. What is this about? Did Shikamaru do something with the Shadow Bind?"

She chuckled. "Yes, he did. Since you hadn't taught him yet, I offered to teach him the Shadow Imitation."

"He must have done well if you got out this sake."

"Yeah. He successfully completed the jutsu on his first real attempt, although he ran out of chakra immediately. I had a hard time hiding my surprise. He seems to be able to apply new theory to practice after hearing something once."

"That's…"

"Yeah. It's pretty incredible. I'm a little afraid he might be more of a natural at it than anyone else in the clan as ever been."

"Did he really learn it that fast? That should be impossible."

"Took less than twenty minutes, start to finish. He was almost completely out of chakra after two tries, though. I think he's putting way too much into every jutsu. You would think somebody as smart as him would have a little more control over chakra."

Shikaku drained his glass and poured himself another, tradition be damned. "And you're sure nobody else has taught him?"

She nodded. "He did it all by reasoning it through and then feeling it out."

"That's… amazing," Shikaku murmured. He took another sip. "Definitely a good reason to celebrate. And definitely a good reason to have a drink. It's scary"

Yoshino nodded in agreement as they settled into a comforting silence, just enjoying each other's presence. She stood up, topped off their cups, and put the bottle away in the fridge so it would keep better for another day. "Shikaku… we need to watch him carefully. If he starts advancing too quickly…"

"He won't turn out like other geniuses of the Hidden Leaf. He's mentally and emotionally stable," Shikaku countered. "Asuma did mention something interesting about him, though. Apparently, he used killing intent on the genin to try and make them freeze, and Shikamaru broke free in five seconds. He thinks Shikamaru's mind reasoned its way out of the pressure and broke the hold, so he wants Shikamaru to finally take an official IQ test and get it in his file."

"But last time…"

"I know. Just shy of 200 when we gave it to him two years ago before having Inoichi erase his memory of ever taking it. He'll probably score higher this time around, if he's like me. He's old enough at this point that I don't think it'll make him any more of a target. If he learned the Shadow Imitation in twenty minutes, he'll be able to defend himself. We'll just stall for more time until he's a little closer to chunin before setting a test date. Once it's in his file, anybody with security clearance can access it. And some of the people with clearance are getting bolder. They might make a play on him."

The two polished off their cups of sake and put them by the sink. Shikaku sighed as he turned off the lights. "Just when I think we've avoided making him a target, he does the impossible. Why can't we have easy problems, with simple solutions?"

Yoshino laughed. "Easy is boring, honey. The good life is not so simple."

…

…

…

***Author's Note: Tightened up formatting and a made a handful of minor edits for consistency with later chapters. Most impactful edit would be regarding how some of the statistics are calculated. 12 December 2019, and again on 1 May 2020.


	3. Climb

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or "The Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

Dawn was Shikamaru's second favorite part of the day. His first favorite was the late afternoon, the best of times to watch the bright sky pass by and dream the day away. But dawn was special, because the world came alive. Most members of the Nara clan were night owls, thriving off the energy of the shadows of night. But at the break of day, the sunlight breaking through the horizon bathed the world in color and contrast and touched his spirit in ways the clouds never could. It was his little secret- no one knew, or quite frankly expected, that some mornings he would sneak out of bed, creep out his window, and find a little nook on the roof just in time for a sunrise in solitude. When he watched the clouds in the afternoon, his mind wandered away from his self. But when he watched the break of day, his mind journeyed inwards in contemplation.

And Shikamaru had a lot to contemplate. He knew his mother was shocked when he picked up an advanced Nara clan technique in minutes. She did her best to hide her surprise behind a veil of pride and excitement, but there was another look in her eyes: fear. What she feared, he did not know. But he hoped beyond measure that she did not fear _him_ , but rather feared _for him_.

He was a little afraid himself. By the end of lunch the day before, his health points had recovered in full but he still had bruises lingering on his chest. When he first looked at them, they were dark and angry, causing him twinges of pain if he overexerted himself. But by the time he hit the shower after training, the bruises had disappeared in their entirety. His ribcage had ached and still been quite tender, making him suspect that one of his ribs had been cracked, but by the time he woke up all the pain had disappeared. The _Gamer's Body_ was miraculous. At the very least, deep bruising or fractured ribs could be healed with ease. The description did say 'all status effects and injuries' would be healed after resting in a bed. Shikamaru surmised that it might even be possible to regenerate lost limbs from spending the night in a bed. That circumstance was, however, not something he had any desire to test.

His understanding of his own chakra had changed completely after the advent of the game. Before, he felt that he had been fairly competent in controlling his chakra. He used to be able to feel the physical and spiritual energies mingling within before transforming into jutsu or being burned as fuel for the strenuous bodily tasks that came with shinobi life. Now, he just felt power. Energy. In some ways, chakra felt less alive. In other ways, it felt more a part of him than ever before. The sensation of mixing chakra had disappeared, that step replaced by mathematical equations and the rules of the game. That left his mind free, no longer having to subconsciously manage the mix.

And thus with the integral aspects of chakra formation and control taken care of by the game's mechanics, his ability to feel his own chakra had grown by leaps and bounds. When his mother was teaching him the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, her main intent hadn't been to open a door for him. She just wanted to make him aware that the door even existed. Once he knew what could be, she had expected him to spend several months exploring, learning how to traverse and manipulate the Shadow Bind with his newfound knowledge until either breakthrough through or giving up and turning his attention elsewhere. Instead, he visualized it on the first try, could feel the energies she was describing so well that on the second time, he just reached out, doing what felt natural and performed the jutsu.

The fact that he pulled it off so easily was especially troubling to him this morning, because he wasn't sure what that meant. Was he gifted by his Nara blood with a penchant towards shadow manipulation techniques? Was he simply lucky in his first attempt? He ruled that one out, since his LUK was at 0. The logical conclusion was that the game was responsible, but the question was… how? What he was leaning towards, and what he had jotted down in his journal the night before, was that the game at its most basic level turned imagination into reality, whether in jutsu creation or just needing a place to put something. Thus, if he could understand the theory of a jutsu, imagine it, and physically perform it, there was no reason he couldn't add the jutsu to his list and use it at will immediately.

But there still seemed to be rules. Last night, he tried to test his theory of imagination into reality by using what little he knew about lightning manipulation. He tried to take the theory of lightning elemental chakra manipulation to create a jutsu that could power a light bulb held in his hand. To his joy, it had worked, somewhat, for a split second before shattering the glass into a million pieces. Unlike with the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, he couldn't feel his way through what he was attempting, and so no new techniques had appeared in his arsenal. Jutsu creation was an integral part of a powerful shinobi's career; perhaps this was a feature he would need to 'unlock,' or elevate his stats to a much higher level.

Boundaries like this seemed ridiculous for a game that broke all the rules of reality he knew, but some natural order of things needed to exist, he supposed. The rules for acquiring jutsu at this point seemed to be simple: one had to understand the theory of a jutsu to learn it, one needed to be capable of performing it, and, for now, one needed to learn it from a credible source.

Shikamaru took a deep breath of morning mist in his little nook on top of the Nara Clan roof. The sky far above lightened to pale blue, streaks of pink and orange painting the underbellies of wispy clouds scattered across the entire sky. Mist drifted across the grounds as the warmth of the sun summoned the morning dew back into the atmosphere. A little warbler hopped across the roof to his right, singing a gentle tune. He swung his legs under him and pulled himself up into the lotus position before bringing his hands together in front of him, completing the circle and centering himself.

" _Through tranquility… triumph,"_ he mused. _"I've discovered enough about the game to start playing. I need to get stronger, and quickly. Right now, I'm too easy a target. Today, I have team training with Ino, Choji, and Asuma-sensei. I can't show up with my stamina and chakra drained from training this morning, or I'll be too wiped out to train. This afternoon will serve as a test to see if physical conditioning does anything to my Gamer's Body. If it does not, I'll need to get stronger by the rules of the game, which I assume is done by completing the experience quota and reaching a higher level. I have time to get stronger before we leave the village, but I'll have to be conscientious of that time because if I am not strong enough, I will likely die."_

The genin pulled up his new 'status' screen and snorted. _"My HP is a joke. The only reasonable thing I can accomplish before training this afternoon is finding armor to protect myself, and making sure that any energy I use in the process can be fully recovered by noon. What a drag- I hate being this weak and having to work so hard. I barely have any money, so the best place to start is probably in… the kitchen."_

Shikamaru took one last look as the sun bathed the world in warmth before climbing back in through his window. He was already ready for the day, and dressed in his shinobi garb, so he immediately walked down the stairs to catch his quarry hopefully right after the first cup of coffee.

"Mornin'."

"Mornin'," Shikaku returned as he sat at the table, nursing his second cup of the day. "You're up early."

"I think best in the mornings."

"Most people do," Shikaku agreed. "And what are you thinking about this morning?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath. "Body armor, and how to get it."

"Interesting…" his father murmured. "I was under the impression your team wouldn't leave the village for several months."

Shikamaru nodded. "That is true. But the worst time to get used to new gear is on a mission."

"Very wise. And I take it you are aware of how expensive body armor is, which is why you are sharing your thoughts with me so freely this early in the morning. Or, perhaps 'free' isn't the best descriptor," Shikaku surmised with a chuckle. Shikamaru at least had the courtesy to look sheepish.

"I… just gave an honest answer, and didn't want to try to hide it," he defended.

"No, you're right. I did ask," Shikaku laughed. "And I didn't say no. But let's talk about something else. Like what you want for breakfast. It's just you and me- the hospital asked her to come in and consult regarding an antidote for a poison the nurses haven't seen before. Nasty stuff. She had to take the full kit with her."

Shikamaru froze in the process of sitting down at the table. "The full kit? What were the symptoms?" The Nara clan, housing the largest collection of herbs and medicinal knowledge in the village, always kept three collections of herbs and supplies ready and under stasis in the event of emergency. The small kit usually sufficed. The medium kit was the one typically taken on B-rank and above missions taken by Nara clan members, so they could be prepared for most encounters, as one could treat or at least stall nearly any illness or poisoning with those materials. The full kit was the one taken when things were really bad- the one that carried all of the herbs the family was able to grow, including the extremely rare herbs that they had a very limited supply of because they struggled to grow in the Land of Fire and had to be imported.

"Better question is, what weren't? Speaking of which, I grabbed something for you." Shikaku pulled a scroll out from one of the pockets on his flak jacket and handed it over. "This morning reminded me that it would be a good time to get you started on your family iryojutsu studies. Flip through that in your free time and if you ever want to practice making some medicine, just ask me or your mother and we'll show you where everything is. I do ask that you finish that scroll before you leave on your first mission outside the village."

Shikamaru nodded dumbly as he accepted the scroll from his father. "Thank you."

"So, anyways… how about pancakes? I don't think I've made pancakes since your last birthday. And we should celebrate this morning! I heard about the Imitation Jutsu. Nicely done, Shikamaru."

"Oh, uh, thank you. Mom's a better teacher than she thinks, I think."

"That she is, sometimes," Shikaku agreed. He started beating some eggs in a bowl while Shikamaru grabbed some ingredients from the pantry. "I'm not sure if I could have come up with that technique without her. It drove me crazy that the Shadow Bind renders the user immobile. I came up with the Imitation from one of her questions while we were experimenting. It took me until three years ago to figure out the final trick to the Shadow Bind."

Shikamaru paused after setting the ingredients on the counter. "A final trick for the Shadow Bind? So you can move during it?"

Shikaku smirked cockily. "I can. The solution was one that never crossed my mind because I was thinking outside the box, when I just needed to contemplate the entirety of the box. You know?"

"… No, you lost me in the box."

"Ha! Well, I spent years lost on that jutsu until it hit me that the physical reason you can't move is because you have to hold the hand seal, while the spiritual reason is because your spirit is busy holding them down. So I mastered the jutsu to where I don't need hand seals."

Shikamaru froze, but not of his own volition; his father caught his shadow and bound him while continuously beating the eggs as though nothing had happened.

"And then…" he continued, "I had to ponder the dangers of separating the duality of body and spirit. Something you want to avoid, right?"

Shikamaru jerked forward as his father released him. "… Right."

"Wrong. I learned that from Inoichi. I complained to him one night about my issues with the jutsu and he figured it out instantly. And wouldn't shut up about it, either," Shikaku answered with a smile. "The Shadow Bind uses space manipulation. There isn't any separation, even when you move. So the key… Is to not think outside the box, 'cuz your box is their box. It's mastering the jutsu to the extent that you don't need hand seals to manipulate the chakra, then breaking through your mind's limitations regarding space so you can fully realize the jutsu." Shikaku added his dry ingredients to his wet and started mixing them while a pan heated up on the stove. "So the answer is simpler than I ever thought it could be. Perfect the jutsu, and get over yourself."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Sounds simple. But it's easier said than done."

"Oh, definitely," Shikaku agreed. He dropped some butter in the pan and watched it melt and sizzle. "… You're smarter than I was at your age, Shikamaru. You learned a jutsu that took years of combined training to create in minutes. The next step, though, won't be so easy. After figuring it out, I had to practice the Shadow Bind every day for two years before I mastered it to the seal-less degree. Re-teaching myself to think beyond spatial limitations took another year. Just straight, hard work." He shivered. "Ugh, those days sucked. But it's worth it. I think."

The two waited in silence and contemplation as Shikaku flipped pancakes until they each had some on their plates. Shikamaru took a bite and smiled. "These are my favorite."

Shikaku smiled warmly at his son. "I know. And it's one of my favorite things to do, making you pancakes. When you mom isn't around, and I can use a lot more butter." He took a swig of coffee and cleared his throat. "About your earlier question…"

"Dad, don't worry about it. I'll figure something out over the next couple months…"

"I have a solution already, actually. I just wasn't gonna to give it to you quite yet. But this works out just fine. Be right back." The jounin commander stood up and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. Shikamaru savored a few more bites until he heard his father cursing and coughing. Shikaku walked in with a canvas bag over his shoulder, setting it down away from the table. "That… is dusty. Be warned."

Shikamaru looked quizzically at his father, who just smiled. He took his last bite from his plate and then got up and took a knee in front of the bag. He wiped some dust off the label and squinted to read the writing. "Yuuto Nara… his name sounds familiar."

"That's because you hear it twice a year when we remember the members of our clan who have fallen," Shikaku answered. "Yuuto died before you were born. He was the youngest of my second cousins. Ensei's oldest. My father had a set of gear commissioned for him as a reward for passing the academy two years early - as the top-scoring shinobi, no less. But it was wartime, and the armor wasn't finished before he set out on his first mission with his team. The whole team was wiped out the very first day they reached the lines. Got caught in a sneak attack that hit the medical tents. The bodies had to be incinerated on site – not enough time in war to worry about the dead. The only things that made it back were the genins' legacy earrings from their parents."

Shikamaru shuddered. "Then this is…"

Shikaku nodded. "Yeah. Ensei gave it to me yesterday. You're the same size as Yuuto. Open it up."

Sikamaru opened up the bag and felt his breath quicken. "Wow, this is… amazing…"

"There's a reason you don't see other members of the clan wearing stuff like this," Shikaku commented. "Custom armor can get expensive. I normally just buy modern standardized gear. Yours is a little outdated, but it's just fine for D and C-rank missions."

Shikamaru pulled several items from the bag. _"A black flak vest, with the Nara clan logo on the back. Must be okay for a genin to wear since it isn't green. Black cargo pants, black combat boots that might be a little big, black fingerless combat gloves, a Konoha headband with black cloth… a larger hip pouch? Wow."_ "This is incredible. I'll have to thank cousin Ensei soon."

Shikaku nodded. "This was hard for him to give up, but he wanted to do something for you and felt it was time. Give him a few days, though- it brought up a lot of painful memories." Shikaku stood up and walked over, putting his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "… Just making sure you know… anytime you want to train with me, or, play shogi or anything, just ask. I will always say yes. Might have to pick a different time, but I'll always say yes to you."

Shikamaru blinked in confusion as he saw his dad wipe his misty eyes. "Yeah, of course, dad."

"Good. Now, uh, I'm going to finish eating breakfast. Why don't you go try this on? I'd love to see you in the gear before I leave for work."

Shikamaru nodded, still caught off-guard by his father's emotions. "For sure. Be right back."

…

" _Observe…"_

Shikamaru stood in his room, casting 'observe' on all of the new equipment his cousin Ensei had gifted him before equipping the pieces. _"Yuuto Nara… This must have been hard for Ensei. If he had had this armor before he left, maybe he would have survived,"_ he pondered. Shikamaru stripped down to his boxers and mesh undershirt and started pulling everything on, amazed at how perfect the fit was. When he first saw the boots, he could have sworn they had been bigger. _"Maybe the game adjusted them to fit me."_

A blinking blue dot appeared in the corner of his vision. Shikamaru silently thanked figuring out how to minimize the notifications before willing it to pop up.

 **You have increased 'Observe' to Level 3!**

" _Convenient timing. Now, let's see what this does to my stats. Inventory."_

 **Apparel**

 _Head:_

 _Torso: [Yuuto's Flak Jacket] (+50 VIT, +100 HP, +50 REP with Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, & _

_Sarutobi clans, -10 REP with all other Leaf shinobi)_

 _Undershirt: [Plain Mesh Tank] (+5% CP Regeneration)_

 _Gloves: [Tactical Fingerless Gloves (Black)] (+10 STR, +10 DEX)_

 _Underwear: [Plain Boxers (Navy)]_

 _Legs: [Yuuto's Cargo Pants] (+10 DEX, +10 SP, +10 Storage)_

 _Feet: [Yuuto's Boots (Black)] (+10 DEX, +10% SP Regen.)_

 _Projectile Bag: [Medium Hip Pouch: 15 / 30]_

 _Accessory: [Konoha Headband (Black)] (+15 REP with all Leaf Ninja and allies)_

 _Accessory:_

 _Weapon 1:_

 _Weapon 2:_

 _Projectile 1: Kunai (3)_

 _Projectie 2: Shuriken (12)_

Shikamaru frowned as he noticed some changes. _"I still have a few areas of armor to improve on before today's meeting. Maybe I should go to a clothing shop and use 'observe' until I find some underwear that boosts my stats. Every little bit helps. I still have room for two weapons and one more accessory, too. I'll have to figure out what beside my headband counts as an accessory at some point."_

He noticed that he still had more room for shuriken and kunai, so he opened up his storage, used 'Crafting' to make five more [explosive kunai], and made some adjustments. _"These might be useful."_

 _Projectile 1: Explosive Kunai (10)_

 _Projectie 2: Shuriken (20)_

Shikamaru also made a note to ask his father one other question: why in the world the Nara clan would cause his rapport with other Leaf ninja to drop. Shikamaru pulled up his character screen to see the changes to his stats.

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: Team 10 (+10% EXP gained for ninjutsu)_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: Genin (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 8_

 _EXP: 800 / 867_

 _HP: 297_

 _CP: 48 / 128_

 _SP: 107 / 107_

 _STR: 12 [+10]_

 _VIT: 58 ]+50]_

 _DEX: 27 [+20]_

 _INT: 55_

 _WIS: 15_

 _LUK: 0_

 _CC: 36%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute [+5%]_

 _SP Regeneration: 15% / minute [+10%]_

Shikamaru grinned as he noticed the changes to his chakra control. _"Good- the game shows me what's been added from other sources so I can know what my base stats are. Boosts from armor, or anything that's not permanent, must not count towards attributes, since I received 'Head in the Clouds' for INT being over 50 but received nothing for VIT, since my normal vitality would only be 8. And it's safe to say that some of the stats that the armor boosted affect chakra control, since I'm down to 36%. If I find something to increase INT and LUK, I'll be able to reverse engineer those formulas. Still a ways to go, but this is a great start."_

Shikamaru closed all the open screens and took a deep breath as he gazed at himself in the mirror. His black mesh undershirt stood out under the black flak vest. The padded collar around his neck would take some getting used to, but it sure would be useful. It was a lot of black, but Shikamaru didn't find that upsetting. He was a ninja now, and one specializing in shadows- dark clothing would be just fine. The pants were comfortable yet rough and sturdy, and his feet weren't too hot in the black combat boots, just soothingly warm. Staring at his reflection, he acknowledged that he looked sharp and professional. But more importantly, he felt more secure. While he knew he had a long way to go before he was truly safe, for the moment, the significant boosts in vitality, dexterity, and chakra control gave him confidence he desperately needed.

Equipment firmly in place, Shikamaru walked back down stairs. As he rounded the corner, his father quickly tossed something at his face and he snagged it out of the air.

"Nice reflexes," Shikaku commented.

" _Higher DEX…"_ Shikamaru rolled his eyes and looked at the object in his hand. "What's this?"

"Something my mother gave me when I started going on missions," Shikaku stated seriously. "I'm not one for superstitions, and I know you aren't either. But I always felt better carrying it. An she felt better that I was carrying it. Maybe it will bring you luck."

" _Observe."_ Shikamaru gazed at the item in his hand and raised an eyebrow. _"Well, that's perfect timing."_

 _Accessory: [Old Omamori: Kaiun]. Old protective amulet carved from the antlers of a young seven-point buck from the herds of the Nara Clan. +5 LUK._

Shikamaru smiled warmly and put it in a pocket of his flak vest. "Thank you. I'll keep it safe."

Shikaku nodded and turned back to his coffee and changed the topic. "What time are you meeting your team?"

"Noon."

"Don't forget some water. You're gonna need it."

Shikamaru nodded, checked the time on the clock, and strolled out the front door. _"8:00 AM. Four hours until go-time. I'll grab some water bottles, put them in my inventory, and use 'Head in the Clouds' to recover my chakra."_

He slowed to a halt as he realized something. _"I'm actually… excited for today. Even though it's going to be hard. And exhausting. Normally this would be a drag, but… I actually want to do it. Maybe this is another effect of Gamer's Mind. Great. What a drag,"_ he reasoned. Shikamaru sighed and continued back down the path. He pulled out the scroll on Nara clan his father had given him and started reading. _"Let's see… Instructions for two techniques and two recipes: one jutsu that diagnoses standard poisons and illness, then a standard formula for crafting antidotes, and one jutsu that wakes the target up and then a standard formula for a sleep aid."_ Shikamaru noticed a flash and pulled up a notification that said:

 **You have received the crafting recipes for: Nara Clan Antidote (Beginner), and Nara Clan Valerian Tea.**

 **You have received a jutsu scroll! Would you like to learn: Nara Diagnosis? Yes, or no? Would you like to learn: Nara Invigoration? Yes, or no?**

Shikamaru readily selected 'yes,' only for another screen to pop up:

 **You do not meet the requirements for Nara Diagnosis. Req.: Base 25 WIS, Base 50% CC.**

 **You do not meet the requirements for Nara Invigoration. Req.: Base 25 VIT, Base 50% CC.**

Shikamaru frowned. _"Interesting. So I can learn jutsu from written instructions, but I have to meet certain standards. I bet that applies to most jutsu. And it has to be base levels, not enhanced by anything equipped."_ Shikamaru put the scroll into his storage and dismissed all of the notifications. _"Alright. Nothing to do about it for now. Time to get ready for training."_

…

"I… wasn't ready… for this…" Shikamaru gasped for sweet air as sweat coursed down his face and turned the ground dark beneath him as he pushed himself up again and again. He winced- his arms burned as though dipped in acid. _"499… 500."_ He fell face forward into the ground. _"Status."_

 _HP: 232 / 300_

 _CP: 128 / 130_

 _SP: 0 / 110_

"Shikamaru, we're really going to have to work on your stamina," Asuma stated as he watched over his team. "… Ino and Choji, you aren't much better." Shikamaru rolled himself over and stared at the sky, hoping to catch a few seconds of _Head in the Clouds_ to recover at least a little stamina before the next exercise. Asuma-sensei was serious when he said he wanted to whip them into shape. He started them out with fifty laps on a trail through the forest. That had drained his SP to zero, but Shikamaru discovered that if he forced himself to keep going, he could consume HP at twice the rate of SP to make up the difference. Not the ideal situation, and it hurt like hell, but Asuma-sensei had been right on his ass when he tried to stop and made it clear that stopping was not an option. Then came a short break, then five hundred pushups, which they had just completed.

"Okay," he wheezed. "Now _this_ is a drag." There was one good thing that came out of all the suffering. During the jog, he had received the same message twice:

 **Due to cardiovascular exertion, you have increased VIT by 1!**

The same message repeated itself again once during the push-ups, only for +1 point of STR. Apparently, physical activity was able to increase his stats, although only little by little. The first VIT point on the run came after around 20 laps, but the next one came after another 30. Shikamaru had a feeling that the more fit he became, the more difficult it would be to raise his stats in the same fashion.

Asuma smirked at them as they gasped for air. "Choji's the best in shape out of you three, surprisingly. Ino… Shikamaru… this is ridiculous."

Choji leapt to his feet. "What do you mean _surprisingly_ , ASUMA-SENSEI _?!_ "

Without missing a beat, Asuma smacked him upside the head and caused him to fall to the ground again. "I'm saying you three are weak. And I'm saying that you eat like crap, Choji. Have you watched what your dad eats?"

Choji paused as he tried to catch his breath. "Um, food?"

Asuma sighed and pinched his nose in frustration. "What does your family eat at meals? Chips? Anything fried?"

Choji squinted his brown in confusion. "No. Mom likes cooking fresh things."

"Then why do you think it's okay to eat potato chips all the time?"

"Because they're tasty! And they fuel my jutsu!"

Asuma sighed again. "No, Choji. You… forget it. Watch what your dad eats for the next week and ask him what he eats when you aren't around. I know his answer won't be potato chips." Choji just stared at him blankly. Asuma massaged his neck before turning back to his team. "We've been training for an hour and you three are out of energy. I intended for us to work out for four hours."

"Sensei, we never worked out this much in the academy," Ino whined.

"You aren't in the academy anymore. I see I was wrong in assuming that you three had the drive to train in your free time," Asuma complained. "We're a long ways from taking missions at this rate. We're going to move on to something slightly less physically taxing so that you can catch your breath. Still taxing, but it'll make use of the time. We're… going to climb trees."

"How is that not physical?" Ino whined.

Asuma smirked. "Because you won't be using your hands to climb. You'll be using your chakra."

"Using chakra?" Shikamaru asked.

Asuma leapt backwards, spiraling until he landed on a tree truck with his feet… and didn't move. "This… is the first chakra control technique taught to genin. We wait to teach this until you are genin because it requires more supervision to ensure your safety than would be practical in the academy. The hardest place to channel chakra is through the feet because the feet are the most distant extremity from your center. By learning to cling to surfaces through your feet using chakra alone, you increase your control over your chakra and greatly enhance your versatility as a shinobi. Walking on walls is obviously kind of useful," the smoking sensei observed dryly. "It's a standard chakra control exercise taught in every village that dates back to before the days of the founders. Since you three can't finish the physical exercises, I'm going to have to teach you a technique that enables you to heal and recover your bodies more quickly so that we can train the body for more than an hour a day. To learn that technique, you'll need to master the tree climbing exercise and probably another exercise as well."

Asuma tossed a kunai to each of his students. "Mark your progress as you climb the tree with a slash. For now, get a running start to help you get more height. Once you reach the top, slow down until you can walk slowly from bottom to top. I'll be watching from over here." With that, he leaned back against a tree trunk and pulled a book out from his hip pouch. "Have fun!"

Shikamaru stared at the kunai in front of him. Ino screamed in frustration before grabbing the knife and sprinting at the tree, making it two steps before she slipped and fell hard on her ass. Choji looked at his friend and shrugged before giving it a try himself. On his first step, he ended up being blasted back head over heals, his chakra causing the bark to burst out.

Shikamaru frowned. _"Too little and you won't stick. Too much and you'll launch yourself away."_ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, visualizing his flow of chakra and trying to focus it at his feet and hold it there. He opened his eyes and sprinted forward, taking one, two, then three steps up the tree before he lost traction. He slashed a line across the trunk and flipped to land on his feet at the base.

 **Learned: Tree Climbing Jutsu (Level 1). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra to the bottom of one's feet to stick to surfaces. Perfecting this jutsu increases the CC magnifier. (CP: 5, +1 CP per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)**

Shikamaru grinned. _"He's my solution to chakra control. And I just learned that there are 'magnifiers,' which means that the formulas_ are _more complex equations, like I thought. Which means I'm one step closer to figuring out the formulas and finishing the 'Game On!' quest!"_ He walked a fair distance away from the tree and called out the name of the jutsu in his head and charged in again, this time making it the same number of steps before having to flip away again. _"… This might take a while."_

…

Shikamaru laid on his back, gasping for air yet again. He had made progress on the Tree Climbing Jutsu on the afternoon- that was for sure. His slashes climbed up the tree at least six meters, while Ino was at four meters and Choji at three. He had reached Level 5 with the exercise but now had to take a break to recover some chakra, hitting the rock bottom of his tank once again. With Asuma's permission, he was watching the clouds in an attempt to get some energy back.

" _Status."_

 _HP: 300 / 300_

 _CP: 4 / 130_

 _SP: 110 / 110_

Shikamaru winced as he heard Ino hit the ground again, hard. While Choji was a silent samurai, able to pick himself up time and time again without uttering a single word… Ino was not. And he hadn't heard her say anything in about an hour, which was never a good sign. He was pretty sure she wasn't quiet even in her sleep. A silent Ino meant that she was fuming inside, and that they were due for her to boil over soon.

Ino screamed in frustration, and Shikamaru sighed. _"Called it."_

"Fuck! How are you doing better at this than me? You're the laziest person EVER! This is fucking ridiculous!" she screamed. Shikamaru sat up and stared at her while Asuma put away his book and walked over.

"What's the matter, Ino?"

"What's the matter?!" she seethed. "How is he beating me? All he does is lay on his ass and do nothing all the time! He's doing it right now!"

Asuma sighed. "Some people just pick this up faster than others, Ino. Everyone's different. It's not a race."

"Yes it is! I should be better than him at this. I've been doing clan chakra control exercises for _months_ and he's higher up the tree than me."

Asuma chuckled. "Sounds to me like you think you're stronger than your teammate."

"Well, duh!"

Shikamaru scowled and sat up at that remark. "Ino, stop being such a drag." Ino growled in response, and Choji stopped his training to stand by and watch, concerned.

"Well, Ino…" Asuma said slowly. "I think there's only one way to solve this. Everyone, take five. Then, Ino, Shikamaru… be ready to spar."

Shikamaru groaned. _"Great… I have to fight? All I want to do is work on this exercise right now so I'm not wasting all my energy all the time."_ He trailed off as he noticed a flashing in the corner of his eye. _"Could this be…"_

 **Quest: Ino-SchmIno! Knock Ino down a peg by beating her in a spar. Reward: 300 EXP. Accept?**

Shikamaru hastily accepted the quest. _"This will push me up to Level 9! Now, how to beat her…"_

He turned around and took a bottle of water out from his inventory where no one could see, glad that he had discovered something new this morning before coming to the training fields. Apparently, certain consumption items could boost his abilities temporarily. In the case of this brand's bottle of spring water, it would boost his CP and SP regeneration by 10% per minute for the next ten minutes. He gulped it down and put the bottle back in his inventory before returning to his position on his back, invoking _Head in the Clouds_ to try and recover his CP back to 100%.

" _Now then… Ino's pissed, so she'll probably try and get me with taijutsu or thrown weapons. If she tries her possession technique, I just have to dodge and she'll be vulnerable. Outside of that… she doesn't have any skills that I really know about. She said she's been doing control exercises, but they're probably the same kind I had to do as a kid- solely focused on Yin chakra for clan techniques. Those don't apply to me anymore. They don't even appear in my jutsu list."_ He glanced at her for a second before turning his gaze skyward again. _"She doesn't have a hip pouch, and keeps shuriken and senbon tied to her leg. If I surprise her with the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, since she doesn't know I know it, I can threaten her with a kunai until she gives up."_

He let his mind wander for the next few minutes until Asuma stood in the middle of the cleaning and waved the trio over. "After this, we'll call it a day for today. You three don't have much left, and tomorrow will be just as hard. Now, when we have spars, we are focusing on developing our skills, not on trying to kill each other. We go until one of you surrenders, or I call the match. When I say stop, you stop. Is that clear?" The three nodded in agreement. "Okay. Choji, let's get out of the way. When I say 'go,' begin."

Asuma and Choji jogged over to the edge of the clearing while Shikamaru and Ino stared each other down. Ino was already quivering with rage, while Shikamaru just stared emptily at her. _"Observe."_

 _Ino Yamanaka (Lvl. 7)_

" _Princess Pig"_

" _Looks like I need to level up 'Observe' to see if I can see more,"_ he reasoned. Asuma shouted 'go,' and Shikamaru suddenly found a pissed-off blonde in his face. _"Fast!"_ He blocked her first two punches, then caught a glancing blow to his chest from a kick. He grimaced and lashed out on the offensive, catching her by surprise and causing her to flip away in retreat, hailing shuriken upon him to keep him at bay.

Shikamaru deflected most of them with a kunai, but one clipped his shoulder. He scowled as he noticed his HP drop by 20. _"Gah! Screw this."_ Shikamaru put the kunai away and slapped his hands together. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu!" His shadow raced out, forcing Ino to take to the air. She threw a kunai at him half-hazardly to get him to stop, but to her surprise he just let it dig into his arm. His shadow raced to where she would land and trapped her the second her foot touched the ground. "Complete."

Ino rolled her eyes. "We can play this all day! Neither of us can move while you… what the?!"

Shikamaru smirked as he stuck his hands in his pockets, and Ino mimicked his movements. "I upgraded my jutsu a little," he called back. Asuma smiled knowingly while Choji looked on, quite impressed.

Ino, however, was not impressed. She was furious. "When the hell did you learn this? I wouldn't have let myself get caught if I knew you knew this!"

Shikamaru sighed before reaching up and pulling the kunai out of his vest, wincing a bit at the sharp pain. _"Looks like it did break the skin a little…"_ he realized. He had missed the pain in the heat of the moment. He reached into his pouch and pulled out one of his explosive kunai. Asuma frowned and put his cigarette out, ready to step in if needed.

"Alright, Ino," Shikamaru called. "This fight's mine."

"The hell it is!" she shrieked. "You shouldn't be able to do anything!"

"No, really. It doesn't work that way any more." He tossed the explosive kunai at her, watching it land at her feet. He looked down so she could see what was wrapped around the hilt before putting his hands together in a seal, making her form the hand seal of her own doom. "Forfeit, or 'boom.'"

Ino struggled against the jutsu, but found herself unable to budge at all. She turned her eyes at Asuma-sensei, unable to fully move her head. Asuma put his hand in the air. "This fight is over. Shikamaru wins."

Shikamaru released his teammate and took a deep breath of fresh air. _"Man, even with higher CC that jutsu still takes a lot out of me,"_ he noted. He walked towards Ino and bowed, performing the seal of reconciliation, which Ino begrudgingly returned. The two walked back over to their sensei, who was grinning.

"Well, that was fun," he joked. Shikamaru winced as he felt at the cuts in his chest and shoulder, while Ino growled and pouted. "Now, nicely done, Shikamaru. Choji, can you tell me why Shikamaru won?"

Choji nodded. "Ino assumed that Shikamaru would avoid taking damage to complete his jutsu. She underestimated him and didn't know he knew a new jutsu."

Asuma nodded in agreement. "Correct. Never assume that your enemy doesn't have a new trick up the sleeve. However, Shikamaru, never assume that taking a hit is the right course of action. What if she used poison? Or… let me show you something." Asuma grabbed a kunai and focused chakra through it before throwing it _through_ the tree trunk on his right, embedding itself deep in the boulder behind. "If Ino happened to know how to enhance her attacks like this, then…"

Shikamaru gulped. He glanced down at there the kunai had struck him and paled. _"She hit me right in the arm. I mean, I know she figured I would move and I knew I could take the hit, but… that was dumb. Really dumb."_

Asuma stood straight and gazed at all three of his students. "Let this be a lesson to you. You three… are teammates. Who you were before holds little meaning. Celebrate your teammates' success, and if they're stronger than you, ask them for help and catch up. Fights like this are pointless- nobody wins," he observed, eyeing Shikamaru's wounds and Ino's expression. "Let's call it a day. See you back here tomorrow at noon again."

Asuma disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Shikamaru put his hand on his shoulder, grimacing at the pain from the shuriken wound. He glanced at Ino, who's scowl had significantly lessened. Choji looked at them worriedly, but Shikamaru nodded at him to let him know it was okay.

"Shikamaru…" Ino started.

The Nara turned to his blonde teammate. "Feel better?"

She rolled her eyes. "A little. Look, I'm sorry for getting pissed, okay? It's just… you were doing better than me, and it didn't look like you were trying as hard. Hell, you were taking a nap. You were beating me without even trying."

Shikamaru sighed. "I had to stop and take a break because I was out of chakra, Ino. I don't have very much, so I have to rest," he explained. Her angry look disappeared rapidly into one of realization. "It's not that I'm better than you or anything. But I've realized that I need to get stronger, and fast. If we go on a mission and get attacked by anyone… it could end really badly. So I'm going to get stronger. A lot stronger."

"… I'm sorry, Shikamaru," Ino apologized. "I'll get stronger, too. And Choji. I won't get left behind." She stuck out her hand, and Shikamaru grinned and shook it. "See you tomorrow, Shikamaru."

"Later, Ino."

The two parted ways. As soon as Ino was out of sight, Shikamaru let out a big laugh as he pulled up his notices.

 **Quest Complete: Ino-Schmino! Reward: 300 EXP." "Level up! You have reached level 9! Reward: +3 ST, +1 AP.**

…

Sitting comfortably in his room, Shikamaru pulled out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil before pulling up his 'character' screen. _"Let's see. So if I figure out the formulas, I'll finish the other tutorial quest and receive 4 attribute points. Let's see what I can figure out so far."_ Shikamaru stripped down to his boxers bringing all of his stats back to their base levels. _"Today, I received one STR and two VIT. As a result, my base HP has risen by 3, my CP by 2, and my CC went down. Now, if I equip something that raises DEX…"_ Shikamaru put on his boots and grinned as his HP went up exactly by 10. _"So I was right. And I learned from the description of the Tree Climbing Jutsu that there are magnifiers, which implies multiplication if it's a rate. Therefore… HP must be: (STR+VIT+DEX) times the magnifier, which is currently 1."_

Shikamaru glanced at his quest screen and noticed something added to the description of 'Game On!': _'(1 / 4).'_ _"Awesome. Now, when I hit Level 9, my SP increased while no stats changed, which means my level number affects my stamina. And, it increased when my STR and VIT went up, but not when I increased LUK or WIS. INT seems to have nothing to do with it. So, SP is (STR+VIT+DEX) times the magnifier, which is currently 1." (2 / 4)_

" _Now. Chakra Points went up with VIT and WIS. I also started with high CP, which corresponds to my high INT. So… (VIT + INT + WIS) times the magnifier, which is currently 1." (3 / 4)_

Shikamaru grinned. "Alright," he whispered. "One more." _"This is the hardest one. Seems more complex. It's a percentage, so a fraction. I know that the higher the chakra, the harder to control, so it's likely divided by CP. Time to experiment."_ Shikamaru took off his boots, and noted his CC drop. He then equipped his [Old Omamori: Kaiun]… and no change. So LUK was not involved, but DEX certainly was. He put on his earrings, and noticed it go from 24% to 28%. He added his vest, and nothing, ruling out VIT, and his gloves, which increased by the rate he expected for the DEX increase, but added nothing additional from the STR, ruling that out. He had no way to test INT, but given that his INT was high and his CC was low, INT was likely only factored in as part of total CP.

" _So that leaves me with this… ((WIS + DEX) / CP) times 1."_ He grinned as a flash lit up in the corner of his eye.

 **Quest Complete: Game On! Reward: +4 AP.**

He closed out all of his screens except for his character screen, _"Now then… where to put my 3 ST… My lowest are LUK, STR, and DEX. Raising DEX or WIS would increase me control the most. Since DEX is the lower… I'm thinking… all three into DEX."_ He assigned the points and grinned as he watched his control and DEX increase a little. He re-equipped all of his equipment and reviewed the changes.

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: Team 10_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: Genin (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 9_

 _EXP: 233 / 986_

 _HP: 303 / 303 [+100]_

 _CP: 130 / 130_

 _SP: 113 / 113 [+10]_

 _STR: 13 [+10]_

 _VIT: 60 [+50]_

 _DEX: 30 [+20]_

 _INT: 55_

 _WIS: 15_

 _LUK: 5 [+5]_

 _CC: 38%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute [+5%]_

 _SP Regeneration: 15% / minute [+10%]_

Shikamaru closed out his character screen and turned to his 'attributes.' _"Okay. I'm up to 8 attribute points. Which means… there are some I can purchase. Let's take a look…"_

 **Attributes to Purchase - AP: 8**

 _I Know Kung Fu: Multiply EXP gained for taijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Big Stick Diplomacy: Multiply EXP gained for bukijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Dreamer: Multiply EXP gained for genjutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _A Gentleman & A Scholar: Multiply EXP gained for ninjutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Medicine Man: Multiply EXP gained for iryojutsu by 50%.(AP: 5)_

 _Ready Player One: Multiply EXP gained for zatsujutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Do Not Consume If Seal is Broken: Multiply EXP gained for fuinjutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Bye, Felisha: Increase chances of outwitting your opponent and escaping by 25%. (AP: 5)_

 _Affinity: Water: Increase EXP gained for water ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of water ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Wind: Increase EXP gained for wind ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of wind ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Earth: Increase EXP gained for earth ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of earth ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Fire: Increase EXP gained for fire ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of fire ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

Shikamaru stroked his chin as he browsed through his options. _"A couple are new. Must have been unlocked as I learned new techniques. The ones most area to boost for right now… Zatsujutsu. Definitely zatsujutsu, since that's where the chakra control exercises and gamer abilities like 'observe' fall. Once I start doing more combat, some of the others might make sense, but for now…"_ Shikamaru selected 'Ready Player One' and added it to his attributes. _"Let's see where that puts me…"_

 **Attributes**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP, CP, and SP recovery rates continue during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities; evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom._

 _Ready Player One: Multiply EXP gained for zatsujutsu by 50%._

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to all stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%._

Shikamaru took a sigh of relief after successfully upgrading his character and closed all of his screens. He glanced at the clock, noticing that it's only 7:00 PM. _"My CP and SP are fully recovered, and I just added 'Ready Player One.' I think this would be a good time to work on the Tree Climbing Jutsu!"_

Shikamaru walked down the stairs and was about to walk out the back door when he noticed flashes of light coming from the Nara clan training grounds. "Oh, so _that's_ where mom disappeared to after dinner…" he muttered. _"Well, the great thing about climbing trees… is that I can do it anywhere there are trees!"_ He grinned turned down an old path that led deeper into the forest. _"Time to climb."_

…

…

…

***Author's Note: Tightened up formatting and a made a handful of minor edits in earlier chapters. Most impactful edit would be regarding how some of the statistics are calculated. 14 December 2019, and again on 1 May 2020.


	4. Sink or Swim

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or The "Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

Few places in the Land of Fire were more beautiful than the hot springs located a mile and a half west of the village of Konoha. The springs rested against the crest of a hill facing away from the village, just high enough that on a clear day, one could gaze over the entirety of the green and wooded valley in which the village was nestled. The world was green as far as the eye could see; leagues upon leagues of mighty oaks swaying lazily in the breeze, sheltering the lushest homeland known to the ninja world. This was the site where Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage, mastered his most powerful elemental ninjutsu techniques, becoming so renowned for his water jutsu that members of the Mist's Hozuki clan treated him with a Flee-On-Sight policy. The springs were natural; the heat was not. As a gift, Hashirama Senju and his wife, Mito Uzumaki, imbued powerful seals into the spring bed that heated the water so that Tobirama could relax and feel rejuvenated from a nice hot soak. The key to the seal to adjust the temperature of the water was given to the Sarutobi clan to adjust according to the weather. Today, one Sarutobi clan member decided that just under scalding was just right.

"GAH!" Shikamaru sputtered as his head broke the surface of the water. He hurriedly swam towards the edge of the pool and yanked himself back out. Today was the eighth day of training for Team 10. After a straight week of conditioning and tree walking, the genin were showing some improvement. In terms of physical conditioning, Ino and Choji had left Shikamaru in the dust. He just couldn't keep up with them by grinding attributes alone, leading him to realize the importance of leveling up. The exercises gained him a level 24 in Tree Climbing, 7 points in STR, and 10 points in VIT, but never any experience, and he still wasn't sure how many levels it would take to master the control exercise.

After deeming the genin as satisfactory at the first technique yesterday, Asuma brought them to a stream and taught them the basics of walking on water using chakra carefully attuned to the surface tension of the body of water. This morning, Asuma took them on a hike to this beautiful and historic spot. While the trio took in the sights, Asuma put up a 'closed' sign at the entrance and bumped up the water temp to 122 degrees Fahrenheit as 'incentive to learn quickly.' The only problem was that the longer they stood in one place, the faster the soles of their footwear heated up, forcing them to bounce from foot to foot in an ill-fated attempt to stay cool. And the more they moved, the more likely they would fall in.

"This… is such a drag," Shikamaru panted as he shakily stood back up. He winced as he heard a shriek, a splash, and then a bigger splash as Ino fell in and the ripple distracted Choji enough to make him surrender to the depths. Asuma chuckled as his team pulled themselves out of the water and gasped in shock and pain as they attempted to recover from the scalding water

The son of the Hokage lit a cigarette and waved for them to go ahead and take a short break. "I never realized how much my sensei must have enjoyed this," he laughed. "Did I ever tell you why we're training over the hot water today?"

"You failed to mention it," Ino bit back.

"Ah. Well, doing it this way serves three purposes. One, it really does make you learn the jutsu faster. Two, it helps increase your pain tolerance and thus your ability to endure under excruciating circumstances. Three… well, I just want you to learn this quickly. Last year, two genin drowned on missions within the Land of Fire because their supervisor didn't get around to teaching them how to walk on water. Another died because she could walk on water but not well enough to do it over a fast current and rippling surface. So it's not just about chakra control- this is also a survival technique."

Shikamaru frowned. _"A ninja drowning? I never thought about it, but battles over bodies of water probably happen often in the shinobi world. If the enemy can do this but we couldn't, we'd be sitting ducks…"_

Asuma coughed, bringing his team's attention back to the task at hand. "Anyways... at the rate you've been going, I think we should have this covered halfway through next week. That being said, we are taking the next two days off to recover. If you would like to continue training, please do so lightly- the body does need time to rest in order to come back stronger, or else your growth will stagnate."

Shikamaru grinned a little at that. _"No with Gamer's Body, I won't."_

"Now, I expect you to continue training here for the next four hours, after which you are dismissed. I have to leave you early today, but I expect you to carry on as though I were still here."

The genin nodded exhaustedly as Asuma put out his cigarette and reduced the temperature of the pool down to a more comfortable level before taking off. Choji surprised them all by being the first to stand up and take a few wobbly steps back out onto the water. Ino took a deep breath and braved it herself. Shikamaru checked his CP and sighed as he saw it filled back up to a reasonable level. _"Might as well. Time to grind. Maybe I can get this at least to Level 5."_

…

In actuality, he was able to get it to Level 6. After four hours of scalding water, a drenched Team 10 slowly trudged down the road back into the village. Choji, surprisingly, proved to be the most adept genin on the water, and by the end of their session was able to stand on his own for several minutes without plunging to the fiery depths. Ino was struggling, but the Nara wasn't sure if it was more due to her frustration distracting her or the fact that she really hated getting wet. There was one key thing Shikamaru was able to learn from his time of suffering: he needed to master Tree Walking before he even bothered hitting the water again. He was simply running out of chakra so quickly that he spent the bulk of the session just recharging his battery. For the sake of efficiency - which any Nara valued to the extreme - he needed to increase his control as soon as possible.

Upon reaching the gates, the team went their separate ways. Shikamaru briskly entered the Nara clan training grounds and immediately began pacing up and down the tallest tree. He took a deep sigh and let his mind wander as he put his body to work. _"If I master this, I can master everything else that much faster. With better control comes more chakra I can use. Only... I have no idea how many 'levels' there are before I master the technique. I presumed I would need to get it to level 100, but that might not necessarily be the case, considering how much easier it has become to use the technique."_

While pacing, the genin let his mind sketch out a training plan. _"Two days off. I'll spend all of the them on tree walking, getting it as high as I can. This is the number one priority at the moment. Should I..."_

Shikamaru blinked as a blue alert screen popped up in the corner. "Already?" he breathed.

 **Mastered: Tree Climbing Jutsu (Level 25 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to stick to surfaces. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 25% and decreased the CP cost when applied to solid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)**

Shikamaru smirked. _"25% may not seem like a lot, but if I receive a similar boon after mastering Water Walking, I'm well on my way. Now... do I move on to water walking, or try something else?_ " While he wouldn't admit it out loud, Shikamaru was hooked. Part of what he hated about hard work in the past was uncertainty. But within the confines of the game, there was nothing uncertain about his progress. The only thing he was lacking was a way to gain EXP, but that would likely come with missions.

He dropped to the ground with a small flip and immediately took off through the trees towards the stream nearby. _"Two days... The sooner I master Water Walking, the sooner I can move on to something less tedious, and the sooner I can get through all this drag."_

…

Shikamaru panted as he stared at the clouds. After two days straight spent on the water, he had finally reached Level 25... only to find that ne needed to reach higher levels in order to master the technique. Level 25 did seem to be a bit of a milestone, however, as it did come with a small reward:

 **Water Walking Jutsu (Level 25). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to remain on the surface of a liquid. Training this jutsu has decreased the CP cost by half. (CP: 5, +1 per sec. of use) (Range: S-)**

He pulled himself up and gazed at the rippling stream as it passed him by, lulling himself into a moment of tranquility as his breathing steadied. "It wasn't for nothing..." he murmured. Two days on the technique had drastically improved the amount of time he could spend mastering the jutsu, but hadn't done much of anything for his stats. This would be the downside to building up his base: he would only grow in bursts. If he wanted to grow more evenly, he would also need to find a way to gain experience.

He picked up a rock and skipped it across the stream, counting as it reached its way across. In many cultures in the shinobi world, telling someone to go "skip rocks" would be taken as an insult. But in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, it would often result in a wistful smile, as it was an afternoon skipping rocks across a stream that gave rise to the tumultuous friendship that would shake the world: that of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Shikamaru smiled as his rock reached the far side - a flash of pride in an otherwise exceptionally dull day. The rock struck a small boulder and fell to the side, and the genin's smile turned into a frown as he noticed something off about the surface. He dashed across the stream and rubbed the moss away off the boulder to confirm what he thought he saw- on the front of the rock was etched the symbol of the Nara clan.

"That's odd..." he murmured. His clan didn't use sign posts or place anything on their property with their symbol on it. _"I wonder what this is for..."_ He brushed his fingers across the symbol, then leapt back as it lit up at his touch. He saw a flash in the corner of his eye and pulled up the alert:

 **You have discovered a natural dungeon: Nara Clan Forest. Enter? Yes or no.**

 _"A natural dungeon? What the hell is that?"_ the genin pondered. He paused as he noticed a new alert flash into existence:

 **Quest: Into the Unknown! Complete the first level in the Nara Clan Forest natural dungeon! Reward: ?, 500 EXP.**

"Well, this won't be a drag." Seeing the EXP reward, Shikamaru immediately walked back to the symbol, causing it to light up and present the option to enter again, and selected yes. And with that, the world blurred.

…

Shikamaru caught himself as the world stopped spinning and immediately took stock of his surrounds. The most startling this he noticed was above him - the evening sky above was tinted with a deep red hue. The stream still rippled behind him, although the boulder with his clan's symbol had disappeared. _"I haven't gone anywhere, yet the sky... something's different. My quest is to 'complete the first level.' What needs to be completed?"_

A stirring in the underbrush snapped his attention back to the present. He hastily pulled out two explosive kunai and readied himself as a shadowy figure made itself known about twenty feet away. Shikamaru let out his breath in a sharp hiss. "Show yourself!"

The first slowly stepped into the light, and Shikamaru's eyes grew in shock before Gamer's Mind filtered away the panic. In front of him was a magnificent ten-point buck from the Nara clan's herds, only... decayed. "Observe!"

 _"Zombie Buck: Lv. 12"_

"... Zombie?" Shikamaru muttered. "The hell?"

With a deep grunt, the buck lowered its head and charged. Shikamaru flung himself to the side, cutting along it's side as it ran past. He dashed away and flung one of the his kunai at it, activating the explosive tag as soon as he was out of the explosive radius. He skid to a halt and braced himself for another charge, only to realize that the explosion had taken care of the situation. After confirming its death, _"well, second death..."_ he acknowledge the alert that popped up, informing him that he had received 50 EXP for killing it. Another shuffle in the underbrush brought his attention back to the fold as more shapes began approaching.

 _"One... two... six. Looks like a small herd of Zombie Bucks and Does."_ The bucks immediately engaged, while the does seemed to stay to the back. Shikamaru pulled out another explosive kunai and took care of the bucks just with the blade, weaving around charges and noticing that it took approximately five slashes with a kunai to kill each buck. After killing the second buck, the does started letting out short grunts and began charging as well, only instead of attempting to run him over, they leapt up high and attempted to crush him with their full bodies. As he dodged the first one, he was caught by surprise as it lashed out with its hind hooves and kicked him square in the jaw, causing 29 points of damage. Grimacing, he dashed back into the fray and was able to eliminate them without any more surprises.

Shikamaru surveyed his surroundings, and was relieved to note that no more deer seemed to be encroaching on his position. At least, until he felt something grab his ankle. The genin kicked down and away and leapt to the side as a body burst out from underneath him.

"Observe!"

 _"Zombie Genin: Level 14"_

"What a drag..." Shikamaru cursed as he took in his new opponent. A rusted forehead protector showed three clouds, identifying the zombie as having hailed from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Decked in black clothing with a white chest plate and clutching a rusted kunai in front of him, the zombie moaned as it took a step towards him. _"Fight it, or kill it with fire..."_ The zombie picked up its pace and began charging him.

"Nope. Boom."

Two explosive kunai later, Shikamaru examined the corpse of the corpse. _"250 EXP. Does that mean this one was five times stronger than the deer? Interesting."_ He stood up and stretch, rubbing his jaw where the bruise from the deer's kick was already disappearing.

 **Quest Complete: Into the Unknown! Reward: 500 EXP, Jutsu Scroll: Escape Dungeon.**

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he cleared the alert, only for nothing to happen. "Huh? Where'd it go?" He pulled up his inventory and noticed that his reward for the quest appeared automatically in his inventory. He pulled out the scroll and attempted to open it, only for yet another screen to appear:

 **You have received a jutsu scroll! Would you like to learn: Escape Dungeon? Yes, or no?**

He hastily selected yes and watched in shock as the scroll disintegrated in his hands.

 **Learned: Escape Dungeon Jutsu (Level 1). A means of escaping natural and instant dungeons. The user uses chakra to focus the power of the Gamer to return from the dungeon to reality. The user cannot be engaged in combat when using this jutsu. (CP: 50)**

 _"Interesting..."_ Shikamaru blinked as he noticed dust rising around him, and saw the various zombies disintegrating. _"Ah. Now that combat is over, the bodies disappear. It must be because they aren't actually real outside of the dungeon."_ He blinked as he noticed that some objects were left behind. A few quick 'observes' later revealed a decent amount of cash, two rusty kunai, four usable pieces of deer antler, and several old tanned deer hides. He walked around the clearing and placed all of it in his inventory before using Escape Dungeon. He watched as the red sky above began to crack like glass before shattering, revealing the world around him just as it had been before.

He immediately cleared all of his notifications and confirmed with a smile that he had leveled up. _"Hmm... three new stat points... let's go into dexterity again. And it looks like every ten levels is a milestone for attribute points; looks like I gained a free five. Let's add... A Gentleman and a Scholar. Sounds refined enough."_

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: Team 10_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: Genin (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 10_

 _EXP: 647 / 1108_

 _HP: 315 / 323 [+100]_

 _CP: 140 / 140_

 _SP: 133 / 133 [+10]_

 _STR: 20 [+10]_

 _VIT: 70 [+50]_

 _DEX: 33 [+20]_

 _INT: 55_

 _WIS: 15_

 _LUK: 5 [+5]_

 _CC: 43%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute [+5%]_

 _SP Regeneration: 15% / minute [+10%]_

 **Attributes**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP, CP, and SP recovery rates continue during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities; evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom._

 _Ready Player One: Multiply EXP gained for zatsujutsu by 50%._

 _A Gentleman & A Scholar: Multiply EXP gained for ninjutsu by 50%._

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to all stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%._

…

Shikamaru moaned as the hot water cascaded over his face, only this time at his own will. After returning home from the stream, the genin immediately stripped down and jumped into the shower to clean off. _"So there are dungeons that I can enter. When I enter, I cannot exit except through a jutsu, which I can only use when I'm not engaged in combat. There are enemies I have to fight that do not exist in reality, but which can in fact hurt me..."_ He absentminded rubbed his palm along his jaw, where the doe's hooves had caught him. _"I don't want to find out how much damage a zombie genin can do. The quest challenged me to complete the first level... there are subsequent levels, which I can assume become more difficult as one ascends."_

Immediately after exiting the dungeon, he had approached the boulder again to try and get back in, only to note that the option to select 'yes' was greyed out in the alert screen, leaving him to surmise that it would be a while before he could get back in, that there were other entrances, or that he would have to find an entirely new dungeon. He sighed again as the water washed his stress away. _"I should be less excited about having to work, but this is at least better than jogging on water all day. It's a drag, but I have to survive somehow."_

He shut the water off and toweled off before putting on fresh underclothes and hesitated in front of his armor before turning away. _"Gamer's Body may let me heal and recover faster, and Gamer's Mind may protect me from stressful circumstances, but I still should take a break once in a while. I doubt Gamer's Mind protects from burnout."_ With that, the Nara closed his dresser drawer with his armor inside and laid down on his bed. _"Tomorrow, we resume team training. I'll focus on mastering Water Walking before I try to get back into a dungeon. I have no idea how much more powerful the enemies may be on level two."_

Shikamaru willed his attention away and let his eyes dance along the grain in the wood of their beautiful home. _"Master Water Walking, then gain levels. That's the goal this week. Sink, or swim."_

…

…

…

***Edited on 1 May 2020 for formatting purposes, to make the text and Game notices easier to read on portable devices.


	5. The Grind

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or The "Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

For all intents and purposes, this was a perfect dawn. As the sun's light crested the mountains, the leaves surrounding the village seemed to dance in the gentle breeze, a blissful tranquility encompassing the moment between slumber and life, a stillness yet not, a peace in transition. And yet the morning's peace brought no respite for a restless Nara, nor for his teammates. Shikamaru winced as he heard a sharp intake of breath to his left before his blond comrade plunged into the fiery depths of the hot spring before she scrambled to the edge of the pool, sputtering and shrieking in exhaustion. Intent on checking their progress, Asuma had rounded up his charges before the rising sun and immediately thrust them back onto the water. Shikamaru's progress with the technique earned him immediate praise. Choji was still performing well, although it was apparent he hadn't improved over their days off. Ino, on the other hand...

"Again."

"Sensei, just... a couple... minutes... please," she gasped, pulling herself away from the hot water for a moment's respite.

"Ino," Asuma muttered. "I need you to put your all into this. This technique might save your life some day."

"Too... tired," she complained. Asuma shook his head in frustration and gestured the boys to join join them off the water.

He sighed. "We'll take five. Let's go over some things while you recover." The son of the Hokage pulled a notepad out from his flak vest and reviewed some notes had had written down. "Once you three are further along in this, I'm going to clear you for d-rank missions within the village. While you can take missions on your own, d-rank missions are really intended for genin teams rather than individuals. The Shodai Hokage invented the concept to break the ice between civilians and shinobi and foster peace within the village, and other villages copied our format after their success. The same skills that make shinobi essential on the battlefield can also make them adept at finding lost pets, plowing a field, or even simply walking dogs. D-rank missions create a sense of home, while also providing genin a safe source of income while they are still developing into combat-ready shinobi and learning essential teamwork skills. It's also a great opportunity for us to learn how to use radios, sign language, terminology, and to familiarize ourselves with each other's habits. There's a method behind the madness."

Ino groaned. "Walking dogs? This is going to suck. Is the pay at least good?"

Asuma chuckled. "Honestly? No. But you three still live with your parents, so it's enough to give you something to be able to buy new equipment if you need anything. And if you really need something, as long as there are missions and all genin squads that want one have received one mission, you can go back on your own and pick up some to do in your free time. That's how I paid for night classes in wind elemental ninjutsu when I was a genin."

That caught Shikamaru's attention. "Tutoring?"

Asuma smirked. "To think that a Nara would get interested in school. Yeah, tutoring. Sometimes, shinobi recovering from injuries aren't cleared for combat, but can still offer assistance to the village, so there's a system in which they can become available as instructors if they happen to be specialists. Basically, if you want to take a class with them, you hire them and pay their rate. I paid for tutors in wind jutsu. The Hokage has also subsidized some classes on occasion if something is deemed an essential skill, although since we're in peace time at the moment I don't think we're doing that right now."

"Hmm..." the Nara pondered. _"I wonder if I could take a class on fuinjutsu- I'm starting to run low on explosive tags, and I know they're outside of my budget if I'm going to use them as often as I'll need to in dungeons."_ "Where do you sign up for classes?"

Asuma chuckled. "Same office we get our missions- at the Mission Assignment Desk, on the second story of the Academy. Right next to the library and bookstore."

 _"Bookstore? Skill books,"_ Shikamaru drooled at the thought. He quickly wiped his mouth, thankful that no one noticed.

Asuma stood up and stretched. "Anyways, this brings me to our next point. Since we'll begin taking missions, we'll also begin exploring the purpose of this team: the Ino-Shika-Cho formations! Which means that we'll also have to begin evaluating where you are at in your family techniques. I know Shikamaru has begun moving into more advanced clan techniques. Choji, have you started to learn to expand more than your arms?"

The Akimichi shook his head in the negative. "That's something dad talked to me about yesterday. He wants to start teaching me to expand more body parts now that my chakra control is better, which means I might be able to learn the Human Boulder technique soon."

Asuma smiled. "That... would open a lot of doors for this squad if you can learn that soon. Ino, where are you at?"

The Yamanaka heiress groaned. "Daddy says I'm not ready for anything more yet, and that I should just keep doing what I'm doing for now. Whatever that means."

Asuma frowned. "I think... he means that you are neither physically or mentally ready for more sensory techniques. And that you also need more control."

"Well, damn, sensei. Thanks."

Asuma laughed. "That sounded harsh, didn't it? But the Yamanaka clan techniques are very difficult to perform, and can be very dangerous. Missing around with your or someone else's mind requires a lot of precision, which is something we can work on now. Shikamaru, how has your work with the Shadow Imitation gone?"

The Nara shrugged. "I know the technique and can do it. Chakra drains troublesome, though. That's why I'm mostly working on chakra control right now."

"Hmm..." the Sarutobi pondered. "Choji, when did your father say you could start training with him?"

The big-boned genin blinked in surprise. "Well, anytime, I think. He's not on any missions or assignments right now."

Asuma nodded. "Then here's what we'll do. After we dismiss for today, go to your father and let him know that I've cleared you from training for the next five days. Continue your work on water walking as you are able to, but your primary focus will be mastering a new clan technique."

"Yes, sensei!" he saluted.

"Shikamaru- I would like you to report back to me in three days for a one-on-one session with me, otherwise you are cleared from team training as well. Continue with chakra control techniques and conditioning; if you are able to, work with your clan towards mastering the Shadow Imitation Jutsu."

The Nara just nodded in response. _"This is perfect- several days to grind out water walking should help lower my chakra waste immensely. And with entering the dungeon once per day, I finally have a decent, consistent source of experience points to level up."_

"Ino... you'll be with me every day for the next five days for one-on-one training. We'll get your control to where it needs to be. Team 10, I think it's been five minutes. Back on the water!"

"Yes, sensei!"

…

The Ninja Lifestyle... was expensive. After Asuma let Team 10 out from their morning on the water, Shikamaru immediately beelined to the Shinobi Academy to check out the list of tutors. He then immediately beelined to the book shop next door after seeing the price tag for the classes he would be interested in. Fuinjutsu in particular was incredibly expensive, although he supposed that was due to the level of difficulty, the lack of competent tutors, and the dangers involved in making things that can go boom. To his surprise, his old sensei, Iruka Umino, was listed as a tutor in several topics- fuinjutsu and lightning elemental ninjutsu among them.

Shikamaru groaned as he dragged himself around the shinobi bookstore at the academy. Fiction, non-fiction, biography, history, religion... Calling it a shinobi bookstore at this point was a bit of a stretch. In hindsight, hoping to find copious amounts of jutsu scrolls was a bit of a silly dream- techniques were kept secret for a reason, and it would make little sense to hide those secrets while also having them available for purchase at a shop. His excursion wasn't a total bust, however; there were several books and scrolls he 'observed' that he was able to learn techniques from, they just weren't all necessarily techniques he had initially realized he needed.

 _The Joys of Cooking in Enemy Territory_

 _Beginner's First Aid: Why is There So Much Blood?_

 _Lockpicking for the Locked-Out_

 _Seven Things I Hate About Traps: A Memoir_

 _Mapmaking for Morons_

 _Relax. You're... Two Tents: Camping Jutsu for the Traveling Ninja_

 _Shinobi Sewing: Armor Repair_

 _Not Another Knot: The Shinobi's Guide to Bondage (Rated PG)_

Thankfully, there weren't overly expensive, and the money he took from the dungeon zombies was just enough to cover them. He ducked into a restroom and rapidly consumed them.

 _Due to making sensible decisions, you have increased WIS by 5!_

He suddenly received the knowledge for multiple crafting recipes, such as for jerky or roasted fish or vegetables, or a lockpick. While the techniques didn't appear in his jutsu list, he also suddenly knew some basic camping ninjutsu, such as how to use chakra to quickly dry out a wet tent, or how to use chakra to hold together a bandage while wrapping it. _Mapmaking for Morons_ actually unlocked something in his Journal screen; whenever he pulled up dungeons or places, he was able to see a map of everywhere he'd been. He hadn't figured out a way to make this more useful as of yet, since every time he pulled it up it consumed almost his entire vision, but at least he had some frame of reference moving forward.

The Nara strolled out of the academy and found a spot on a bench, pulling his notepad out to jot down his thoughts. The shadow genin had come to some minor breakthroughs in regard to assigning points. He noticed that whenever a stat point hit 50, he seemed to receive a permanent attribute boost associated with it. In the case of his intelligence, he received _"Head in the Clouds,"_ which enabled him to recover CP and SP much more efficiently than if left to his own devices. Equipment boosts didn't seem to influence these numbers, so it must have to do with his base statistics, which were improved by training and by assigning points. If he wanted to reach 50 in each of them, he would need to level up a fair amount. It made no sense for him to spend his points without a plan; the best approach would be to save them until an achievable goal came within reach.

He also realized something this morning during their training. In his haste, he had skipped breakfast. It was now three in the afternoon, and he hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before... and he felt fine. No hunger, no weakness, nothing of the sort. He hadn't truly explored what it meant for him to have a _Gamer's Body_ to this point. Did he need food, water, or even sleep? Sleep served a purpose in regenerating his health, but did he actually need to sleep? This was something that would require experimentation. It was an assumption, at this point, that more severe injuries would require more sleep to heal; that was something he would only explore on an as-needed basis, as he had no desire to injure himself permanently for the sake of a science that, as far as anyone else would be concerned, existed only in his head.

The Nara popped a crick in his neck and sighed. _"Mastering the mechanics means even more mindless repetition. What a drag. But the benefits are obvious- mastering tree walking made a drastic change to my chakra control, and made it so I can stick to solid surfaces with no cost. Reaching the maximum level of every technique has to be my goal- the benefits are unheard of in the shinobi world. Reaching landmarks like level 25 in the water walking technique made a huge difference, too. It's a safe assumption that the more complicated the technique, the higher the maximum level is for it to be considered perfected or maxed out."_

All in all, a very productive day. He'd rounded out his abilities, figured out some essentials regarding his limitations, and developed a simple plan of action: _"Grind it out,"_ Shikamaru reasoned to himself. _"Every day: hit the dungeon for experience, focus on perfecting control, save points until I have an achievable goal and the means to use that goal, and maximize every training opportunity_."

The genin put his notes away and took off for the forest around his clan's home. _"Dungeon time; time to grind."_

…

 **Natural Dungeon: Nara Clan Forest. Select Level:**

 **Forest, Lv. 1 - Cleared**

 **Forest, Lv. 2**

"What a drag..." Shikamaru groaned. "Options." His hand hesitated over the screen before going ahead and selecting Lv. 1. _"The enemies are real, and the experience is still worthwhile; I better not test the next level until I have evreything down from thsi one and don't have to burn through explosive tags all the time."_

The world turned red again, and Shikamaru felt the cool grasp of _Gamer's Mind_ soothe his senses before instinct took over and he skidded to the side, away from the zombie buck. He let himself slip into action and took out the first wave, then the group wave, and then lastly the zombie genin again with an explosive tag, just as he did the night before. He collected the loot that dropped and used the Escape Dungon Jutsu to reappear next to the stream, where his suspicions were confirmed- he could only enter a natural dungeon once per day, regardless of whether or not additional levels were available.

 _"Time to put the plan into action. No food or water until, or if, I need them. And no sleep tonight to see how it affects me._ " Shikamaru sighed and stepped out onto the stream to practice his water walking. _"Let's see if I can get this down."_

The next two days passed by in a blur. Shikamaru discovered something very fascinating indeed. His body, in truth, did not need sleep to recover, thanks to _Gamer's Body_. If he were severely injured, he might need the benefits of sleep to recover faster, but not sleeping had no impact to his health, stamina, or recovery rates. No, where it had an impact was on his mind. His mind was not suffering from physical fatigue, per se; rather, it seemed more that his mind was not used to staying organized without rest. Overstimulation, one might surmise. At about the thirtieth hour, his thoughts would just wander, and he was unable to focus on anything. A simple hour's nap sufficed to recharge him, and he appreciated knowing his limits; he was only human, after all.

Food and water were a little more clear-cut; after twenty-four hours of not drinking any water, he received a notice that he was suffering from dehydration, which negatively impacted his health, stamina, and chakra regeneration, and noted that if it progressed to severe dehydration, he would begin losing health points rapidly. At twenty-four hours of not eating any food, he received a notice that he was suffering from hunger, which had the exact same effects. The effects also appeared to stack on each other, which could spell doom for him. Luckily, the fresh food items he stored in his inventory never seemed to spoil or be affected in terms of time or temperature, so the likelihood of ever struggling with dehydration or hunger were nigh impossible. Also, luckily... a single 'item' satiated his necessities. A sip of water wouldn't satisfy the status effect, but finishing a small bottle did. Same with food- a bite of something wouldn't satiate him, but if he ate an entire apple or other small item, it took care of all of his needs. Smaller items did not offer as many boosts as, say, a full meal (the steak his mother made for dinner several days before gave him a bonus on strength for six hours!), but they got the job done and let him spend more time training. And none of the food items he had encountered seemed to boost training or chakra recovery beyond some energy drinks, which were expensive.

With a new understanding of his body's need for sleep, and more hours in the day for him to train, what he thought would take the rest of the week took two days:

 **Mastered: Water Walking Jutsu (Level 50 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to remain on the surface of a liquid. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 50% and decreased the CP cost when applied to liquid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)**

He had now also completed the first stage of the dungeon four times in total, giving him a handful of stat and attribute points from leveling up that he was saving. On his last two runs, he had focused on using the Shadow Bind Jutsu on the zombies to level it up. While he was unable to move while performing it, he had hopes that like his father, he could master the technique to where he could move while casting it. So far, he had raised it to level 29, while the Shadow Imitation was only at level 2. At this point, since he was still limited in how much chakra he could expend, the Imitation technique would drain him too quickly and leave him exposed.

But now, his grinding was on hold, as he was standing across from his sensei at their scheduled one-on-one session. Asuma grinned as they began their morning stretches.

"So, Shikamaru. Fill me in on your progress."

The Nara grinned. "I perfected water walking."

"Oh! Perfected? A bold claim."

"Perfected. I don't lose any chakra on the water anymore."

Asuma paused in his stretches. "... None?"

"None."

"Interesting. I'm not sure how to test that, but if that's true, you're better at it than I am. Have you found that this new level of control has helped you in your other jutsu?"

Shikamaru nodded. "My control is much better, and I'm wasting less chakra, but I still don't have enough chakra to really use my clan's technique in a fight. I'd be drained after only a couple times using them. I've been trying to reach a mastery of the Shadow Bind before the Imitation; dad clued me in on how useful that could be, although it took him a long time to figure it out."

Asuma frowned. "That puts a damper on us taking missions outside the village..." he murmured. At seeing Shikamaru's confused expression, he chuckled. "I suppose I can give you my reasoning. I already mentioned that I'm being careful with us leaving the village because I have a bounty on my head, right?"

The Nara nodded. "A decent one, too, you said."

"It certainly would pay some bills!" he laughed. "Yeah, being honest... I'm what someone would consider a middle of the pack A-rank threat. I'm a competent jounin from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. But I'm also close to the Leaf's kage, so anyone with a grudge might gun for me. I'm also not so strong to discourage someone from giving it a try. That's why Kakashi felt okay taking his team out on a C-rank mission this week; they aren't as far along in the basics as you are, but they're fairly competent at combat, and his reputation is such that it would take someone extremely powerful to even attempt to go after him. He's what I'd call high A-rank; not quite S-rank, although that's also because he doesn't have a lot of techniques that cause mass destruction. You'll find that S-rank ninja are rated less for combat abilities and more for how much damage they can do in a split second."

Shikamaru nodded, following along. "So in straight combat, Kakashi might be S-rank, and other shinobi don't know for sure. It's all whispers and reputation."

"Exactly. I don't think he is, personally, but I also don't want to put it to the test," Asuma joked. "We are also an easily-identified team. The secret of Ino-Shika-Cho is out, although it's powerful enough that we keep fielding the teams. If another village identifies you three on a mission, they might gauge the risk and try to take you out to avoid another generation of it. It wasn't as much a problem in the past, but your father was so shrewd on the battlefield that his reputation precedes him and falls down to the three of you. If the Fourth Hokage hadn't developed the technique that beat Iwa during the war, I believe your father would have orchestrated our victory regardless. He is the one who convinced the Fourth to use the Flying Thunder God, as he was against it for ethical reasons."

"So," Asuma continued, "before we leave the village for any reason, I need the three of you to be combat-ready genin. That way, I'm not looking over my shoulder in a fight covering you the entire time. If you can use the Ino-Shika-Cho formations, we'll really be ready for advanced combat. Especially once Ino is ready for sensory ninjutsu, which is what I've been getting her on track for this week. She's a little more dispositioned for mind and medical techniques, but she'll at least be able to detect enemies within a short distance by the end of the month. Which will then allow you to capture them and Choji to eliminate them. The simplified Ino-Shika-Cho."

"Hmm..." Shikamaru took everything in. "I like the theory, but I still think I need to develop my taijutsu and ninjutsu abilities. I don't like our main focus being all three of us focused on the same targets."

Asuma nodded in agreement. "We'll get there. This is about being functional as a team so we can best serve the village first. The sooner we can start on C-rank missions, the better we'll relieve pressure on active chunin, which enables active chunin to begin developing themselves into jounin. And on and on it goes. And maybe someday, one of those jounin will be able to step up so my dad can retire and they can become the Hokage," he laughed. "Someday soon."

Shikamaru chuckled. "At this rate, it might be Naruto. He's always shouting about becoming Hokage."

Asuma laughed. "Or my nephew, Konohamaru. He's actually tried to assassinate pops with a wooden shuriken to take his job. He's not even in the academy yet. Tripped over his own scarf last time."

Shikamaru smiled before finally standing up from his stretches. "Okay, what are we working on, sensei?"

Asuma put out his cigarette under his boot and popped his knuckles. "Okay. So you're so concerned about how much chakra you have that I think you have tunnel vision. So let's teach you how to use what you do have and how to build up your body so that you can create more. First lesson: chakra is comprised of physical and spiritual energies. So, how do you create more chakra?"

"Have more physical and more spiritual energy."

"Exactly! We've been doing the physical work, although spiritual is something that's a little easier to gain once your body is in better shape. How do you help your body increase it's energies?"

Shikamaru frowned. "Physical training and spiritual training?"

"Kind of. It's like working a muscle, but there are multiple ways to train a muscle. There's power, for sure, but there's also endurance. How do you think we do endurance training?"

"... I don't know if I like where this is going."

"You won't." With that, Asuma disappeared completely from view and slammed Shikamaru into the ground. Shikamaru gasped as he detected his HP drop by almost a fifth. Asuma smirked. "Sometimes the best way to encourage the body to improve is to break it down to make it better."

 **Learned: Physical Endurance (Passive, 1%). The body's capacity for damage increases, leading to a reduction in damage from physical attacks and resistance to physiological effects.**

Asuma grinned as he helped his student up off of the ground. "We'll start sparring with your teammates next week to encourage this. Now, there's also the spiritual aspect..."

Shikamaru froze and Asuma suddenly flashed through a set of hand seals and slapped a hand on top of his head. "The Art of Genjutsu: Disciple of Nirvana Jutsu!"

 **Resistance failed.**

The world went dark.

…

Shikamaru groaned as his head rocked on the ground while a hand shook his shoulder. "Ugh..."

He heard a quiet chuckle above him. "We're going to have to work on that. I thought you'd resist at least a little."

Shikamaru opened his eyes and winced. Right in front of his face were two light blue screens:

 **Resistance failed. Subjected to Sleep.**

 **Learned: Spiritual Endurance (Passive, 1%). The spirit's capacity for damage increases, leading to a reduction in damage from spiritual attacks and resistance to psychological effects.**

"What was that? I fell asleep?"

"Something I picked up from a friend at the Fire Temple a while ago. One of the few genjutsu I like to use," his sensei admitted. He extended a hand, which Shikamaru took hesitantly before being pulled up to his feet. "Didn't think it'd hit you that hard."

"I don't have much resistance to spiritual things at the moment," Shikamaru murmured.

"Yeah, I noticed. We'll have to work on that," Asuma surmised. He clapped his student on the shoulder. "But hey! Now we know. And once you know, it's all about what you do about it."

"... You should be on a poster, sensei."

"Ha!" he snorted. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep draw. "Now, normally, we'd keep at this for several hours. But after you hit the ground like that, I think we can focus on other things. You're still that concerned about the number of times you can cast your jutsu?"

Shikamaru nodded, and winced as he did so, realizing that he must have bumped his head when he fell asleep. "Yeah. They're just really draining."

"Well, there's two ways to build that. One is to get better control, which you're already working on. The other is to increase your reserves, which we just spoke about. I can help increase your endurance, but power is something best developed on your own. Physical energy we'll cultivate through our training, although having some more advanced taijutsu exercises might help. Spiritual energy would benefit from meditation, which is something I can help you with. They might also have some chakra control exercises that would benefit you- from the notes your dad gave me before taking you on as a student, he alluded to one in particular for Yin Release that is a necessary step to learning some of your clan's more difficult techniques. Maybe the control exercise is something you can start on now. Does that sound like a good plan for now?"

Shikamaru nodded. _"I'll have to talk to dad tonight. What a drag..."_ "Yeah, thanks, sensei."

"Great! Then let's meditate! Oh, I never thought I'd say that with excitement..."

For the next two hours, Asuma walked his student through entering a peaceful trance and finding a sense of tranquility without falling asleep, which proved surprisingly difficult. But at the end of it, Shikamaru was able to walk away with a new technique:

 **Learned: Meditation (Level 1). The user focuses inward, boosting WIS, INT, CP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration while in a trance. Any attacks against the user while engaged in meditation are automatic critical hits (CP: 0) (Range: N/A).**

There was also something else about meditation that was not captured in the description, something Shikamaru discovered very quickly- anything and everything seemed to break his trance. A bird singing, an ant on his leg, a gentle breeze, Asuma blowing a little too much smoke in his direction... This would be an incredibly difficult technique to level up because of the sheer number of times he kept being interrupted. After several hours spent working on the technique, Asuma finally dismissed him, but to his dismay he still hadn't reached Level 2, something that he hadn't experienced grinding on a new jutsu thus far.

But today was less about sharpening his toolkit as it was about gaining new tools, so he trudged down the road towards his clan's home. Dinner with his parents? He hadn't attended in a while. He'd been so distracted by training that he often missed it and just ate on his own, if he even ate. His father hadn't seemed to mind, as he missed dinner often enough as it was, but his mother had certainly been biding her time and planning her comments.

He glanced up at the sun and smirked. Dinner wouldn't be for several hours yet- he still had time to run through a dungeon. Plenty of time to get his thoughts in order.

…

"Yo."

Shikaku blinked in surprise as his son sat down across from him at the dinner table. "Yo, yourself. Where have you been? Looks like you could use a shower." The Nara Clan Leader looked his son up and down and hid a prideful smile. _"Seems like he's been training hard... good."_

Shikamaru grimaced. _"Maybe I should have showered. Come to think of it, it's been a few days... I need to keep things like that in mind if I'm going to keep training all night..."_ "I had a one-on-one with sensei today. He taught me about physical and spiritual endurance training."

Yoshino hissed as she entered the room. "Both in one day? You must be exhausted!" She set the plate she was carrying down in the center of the table and took her seat. "Oh, and thanks for coming to dinner. For once."

Shikamaru smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I keep forgetting what time it is. And I'm fine. He took it easy on me, then taught me meditation."

"It's fine, we understand, it'd just be nice to see you when we can if you're not on missions. You'll appreciate this someday."

Shikaku's raised an eyebrow when he finally processed what Shikamaru said. "Meditation? With a genin fresh out of the academy? How did you find that?"

Shikamaru took a bite of rice and shrugged. "It's slow going, but I know it'll help. I keep running out of chakra too quickly using our clan jutsu. I have to last longer in case we get into a serious fight."

Shikaku nodded. "That's wise. I remember our first C-rank mission; my sensei was investigating a lead and the three of us genin ended up being attacked in the night. Choza got knocked out by a bandit that turned out to be a runaway genin, and Inoichi and I realized that day that our taijutsu wasn't up to snuff," he chuckled. "I tended to learn everything the hard way back then."

Yoshino huffed in annoyance. "Not even the hard way, but the worst possible way. Remember the mission to the Land of Birds?"

The Jounin Commander winced, then gestured to the scar above his eye. "Never forget it. Didn't bother with setting traps around our camp at night while knowing we were in enemy territory. Just me and your mother on that one. If she hadn't been keeping watch, the kunai would have been in my throat. Only reason I'm alive is because she was so fast. That was another mission I learned that my taijutsu wasn't up to snuff, either. It probably still isn't."

"Definitely isn't," Yoshino scolded. Her husband just laughed and she smiled at him. Yoshino turned to her son and grinned. "If you haven't read between the lines yet, your taijutsu probably needs work."

Shikamaru groaned. "I know. It's just so expensive to hire tutors at the mission assignment office."

"Tutors? Why do you need a tutor? I can teach you taijutsu," Yoshino pouted, insulted. "I'm retired, not dead."

Shikamaru blinked. "Oh. Well, do you mind?"

"Of course not. Not tonight, though. I've got to draw up some medical notes for a surgery tomorrow. Guy's been taking a bunch of different medicines from different doctors and not telling them who gives him what; I need to make sure the anesthesia won't kill him. Give me a few days to get myself ready to teach taijutsu again. I'll let you know when I'm free," Yoshino offered. Shikamaru readily agreed.

"What spurred all this on? Looking into tutors already? You just became a genin," Shikaku inquired.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Mostly, I'm interested in lightning ninjutsu and fuinjutsu, and those I need classes in. I'm just trying to get strong so I can protect myself."

"Hmm. Yeah, those we can't help you out with very well," Shikaku admitted. "But the chakra control I can. There are two techniques that you'll find useful. One of which is a secret jutsu of our clan; the other is a secret jutsu of the Akimichi clan that Choza taught me. The deeper one delves into Yin jutsu, the more one realizes the importance of harmony with Yang, so we traded techniques in search of that balance."

Shikaku held his hands high over the table and placed them in the signs of the rat, the serpent, and finally the bird. In front of his hands, a small shadow lifted itself up from the table from behind his coffee mug and rose until it detached from the mug, a new shadow immediately taking its place. Shikaku held the shadow in midair, letting it coalesce into a swirling vortex of darkness before letting it drop onto the table. Shikamaru blinked in surprise when it made a sound and bounced before dispersing back into nothingness. Shikaku smirked. "I never get tired of that. Cool, right? Tell me what I did."

Shikamaru's mind raced. "You... manipulated the shadow into the air... then..."

" _By means of_ the air. Not into. Gases are still substances. Air itself became the medium, rather than solid or liquid objects. Gases have shadows, too; don't clouds block the sunlight?"

Yoshino laughed as Shikamaru's world was blown. "Okay, just give it to him. There's no reason to let him suffer in figuring it out."

Shikaku chuckled. "You win, I won't mess with him. But seriously- I took the shadow that was splayed across one surface, moved it across more shadows- the shadows cast by light hitting the molecules in the air. It's there, they're just really hard to find. I use Yin chakra to bring the shadow in balance with the world around it; I blur those shadows together and string it along and can manipulate it until it has detectable mass. That's the foundation for our clan's techniques that materialize shadows."

"That's... a lot to envision," Shikamaru haltingly replied. His father just chuckled.

"There's chakra in damn near everything in the world, Shikamaru. Shinobi just use it. Sometimes in weird ways. There's chakra that can be manipulated in the ground, in trees, in nature, in water, animals, sunlight... darkness. Shadows are the absence of light, and yet there's energy there that we can manipulate. My more radical theory is that light transmits yang energy, when shadows, which are the absence of light, lack that yang energy, which makes shadows a perfect place for yin energy to gather, and a perfect place for a clan like ours to hide. Before the clan got into our current ninjutsu techniques, we were heavy genjutsu users. But that's kind of out of fashion anymore."

"Where did you get the theory about light and yang?" Shikamaru asked.

Shikaku smirked. "From the Akimichi. Behold!" He slapped his hands together into the sign of the boar, then the monkey, and last the tiger. Shikamaru waited, then waited a few more seconds, then raised an eyebrow at his father. "... This one is a little less dramatic."

"... What's happening that we don't see?" Shikamaru inquired.

The Commander smiled. "More observant. Good." He held his hands out towards Shikamaru. "Look closer."

"Are your hands... glowing?"

"Yang. Emits light. This technique helps you focus your physical energy to enhance the body. I'm essentially burning my physical energy right now to boost my strength and stamina. If I were injured, I can also use this technique to help my body fight off infection, although since I would have bigger concerns, this isn't really something recommended you do. Basically, I'm kicking my body's metabolism into overdrive to create yang chakra. It speeds up digestion and eases indigestion, for some reason. This is the forerunner to their famous Calorie Control technique, to which I do not know the details. All I know is..." he released his hands from the seals and took a deep gasp, "it really drains chakra."

"So you burn chakra to boost one's physical energy... what are these techniques called?"

"You know... we never named this technique, actually," Shikaku pondered. "I guess you can call it the Move a Shadow Jutsu or something."

 **Learned: Nara Clan Secret Technique: Yin Release: Move a Shadow Jutsu (Level 1). A Yin chakra control technique. The user concentrates yin chakra within a shadow and condenses and enforces it until it can be moved across mediums, have density, and can influence the physical world. (CP: 25, + 10 per second) (Range: M)**

Shikamaru's eye twitched as he read the name of the jutsu on the alert he just received. "Original. What about the Akimichi clan technique?"

"That one actually has a name. It's the Anti-Indigestion Jutsu."

 **... Learned: Akimichi Clan Secret Technique: Yang Release: Anti-Indigestion Jutsu (Level 1). A Yang chakra control technique. The user consumes chakra to enhance the body's production of physical energy, boosting VIT, STR, HP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration. Eases the symptoms of indigestion and speeds up the filtration of poison. Any attacks against the user while engaged in this technique are automatic critical hits (CP: 0, + 5 per second) (Range: N/A)**

"... why?"

Shikaku just laughed. "I told you- shinobi are weird, and they impact the world in weird ways. You should hear what the Fourth Hokage used to call his techniques. He had one that he wanted to call the 'Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Two.' I told him not to bother naming it until he was on style number three. It was just his Flying Thunder God technique with a shadow clone, a spin, and a flash bomb involved."

Shikamaru just hung his head in embarrassment.

…

…

…

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: Team 10_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: Genin (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 12_

 _EXP: 707 / 1358_

 _HP: 333 / 333 [+100]_

 _CP: 151 / 151_

 _SP: 143 / 143 [+10]_

 _STR: 24 [+10]_

 _VIT: 76 [+50]_

 _DEX: 33 [+20]_

 _INT: 55_

 _WIS: 20_

 _LUK: 5 [+5]_

 _CC: 61%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute [+5%]_

 _SP Regeneration: 15% / minute [+10%]_

 _Physical Endurance (1%)_

 _Spiritual Endurance (1%)_

 **Attributes**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP, CP, and SP recovery rates continue during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities; evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom._

 _Ready Player One: Multiply EXP gained for zatsujutsu by 50%._

 _A Gentleman & A Scholar: Multiply EXP gained for ninjutsu by 50%._

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to all stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%._

 **Apparel**

 _Head:_

 _Torso: [Yuuto's Flak Jacket] (+50 VIT, +100 HP, +50 REP with Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, & _

_Sarutobi clans, -10 REP with all other Leaf shinobi)_

 _Undershirt: [Plain Mesh Tank] (+5% CP Regeneration)_

 _Gloves: [Tactical Fingerless Gloves (Black)] (+10 STR, +10 DEX)_

 _Underwear: [Plain Boxers (Navy)]_

 _Legs: [Yuuto's Cargo Pants] (+10 DEX, +10 SP, +10 Storage)_

 _Feet: [Yuuto's Boots (Black)] (+10 DEX, +10% SP Regen.)_

 _Projectile Bag: [Medium Hip Pouch: 15 / 30]_

 _Accessory: [Konoha Headband (Black)] (+15 REP with all Leaf Ninja and allies)_

 _Accessory: [Old Omamori: Kaiun] (+5 LUK)_

 _Weapon 1:_

 _Weapon 2:_

 _Projectile 1: Explosive Kunai (3)_

 _Projectie 2: Shuriken (12)_

 **Ninjutsu**

 _Nara Clan Secret Jutsu_

 _Shadow Bind (Level 29): Original technique created by the Nara clan to control the shadows. The user manipulates his or her shadow across surfaces to the shadow(s) of the opponent(s) and renders them immobile. (CP: 20 per target, +1 per sec. of resistance per target) (Range: M)_

 _Shadow Imitation (Level 2): The user reaches out with their shadow and forces the target's body to mimic the user's actions. (CP 40, +3 per sec. of resistance per target) (Range: M)_

 _Ninjutsu_

 _Clone (Level 5): The user creates an illusionary copy of himself to try and deceive the enemy. (CP: 20, Limit 2 at a time, Range: S)_

 _Transformation (Level 5): The user creates an illusion that covers the self and mimics the appearance of another person or thing. (CP: 15, +1 per 15 sec.)_

 _Substitution (Level 11): The user replaces herself with a nearby log or other inanimate object to escape damage. (CP: 15, Range: M-)_

 _Nature Manipulation_

 _Fire Style: Charcoal (Level 2): The user transforms wood or stone into glowing embers. (CP: 20, Range: S-)_

 **Genjutsu**

 _Kai (Level 2): Releases user from genjutsu. The higher the level, the higher level of genjutsu that can be broken. Higher leveled genjutsu can be broken through consumption of additional chakra based upon level of enemy's jutsu. (CP: 10+)_

 **Taijutsu**

 _Academy Taijutsu (Level 24): Basics of hand-to-hand combat._

 **Bukijutsu**

 _Shuriken (Level 12): Ability to throw shuriken in combat. (Accuracy: 12%, Range: M)_

 _Kunai (Level 13): Ability to throw or wield kunai in combat. (Accuracy: 13%, Range: M)_

 **Zatsujutsu**

 _The Gamer_

 _Observe (Level 9): By analyzing your surrounds, you are able to learn information. (CP: 5) (Range: M)_

 _Craft (Level N/A): By combining ingredients, one can create new items. One must have the recipe recorded in the journal and the skills necessary to create the new item._

 _Escape Dungeon Jutsu (Level 2):_ _A means of escaping natural and instant dungeons. The user uses chakra to focus the power of the Gamer to return from the dungeon to reality. The user cannot be engaged in combat when using this jutsu. (CP: 50)_

 _Chakra Manipulation_

 _Leaf Concentration (Level MAX): Concentrate on holding a leaf to your body to learn how to control chakra! Develops chakra control multiplier from 0 to 1 at maximum. (CP: 0) (Range: S-)_

 _Tree Climbing Jutsu (Level 25 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to stick to surfaces. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 25% and decreased the CP cost when applied to solid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)_

 _Water Walking Jutsu (Level 50 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to remain on the surface of a liquid. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 50% and decreased the CP cost when applied to liquid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)_

 _Meditation (Level 1). The user focuses inward, boosting WIS, INT, CP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration while in a trance. Any attacks against the user while engaged in meditation are automatic critical hits (CP: 0) (Range: N/A)._

 _Yin Release: Move a Shadow Jutsu (Level 1). A yin chakra control technique. The user concentrates yin chakra within a shadow and condenses and enforces it until it can be moved across mediums, have density, and can influence the physical world. (CP: 25, + 10 per second) (Range: M)_

 _Yang Release: Anti-Indigestion Jutsu (Level 1). A yang chakra control technique created by the Akimichi clan. The user consumes chakra to enhance the body's production of physical energy, boosting VIT, STR, HP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration. Eases the symptoms of indigestion and speeds up the filtration of poison. Any attacks against the user while engaged in this technique are automatic critical hits. (CP: 0, +5 per second) (Range: N/A)_

…


	6. Gamechangers

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or the "Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

…

The color red was, surprisingly, one of Shikamaru Nara's favorite hues; it reminded him of the bright burst of dawn, and of his mother's beautiful camellia shrubs that she tended with a furor he never understood but could appreciate. Red, he associated with passion, energy, and beauty; qualities he never thought he would apply to his own life. But the Game had changed him, perhaps with the simple fact that it offered him a constant sense of accomplishment, and like a drug, he was addicted - leaving him scurrying about in a red-tinged world, trying desperately to survive a second-level dungeon.

After the previous nights' time spent with his family, he spent the rest of the midnight hours practicing his new yin chakra control technique, before taking a short hour's nap to refresh his mind. Upon awakening with the dawn, he had the brilliant idea to test his limits by taking on Level 2 of the Nara Clan Forest dungeon. "Hindsight is 20/20..." the genin muttered to himself as he scrambled up a tree, narrowly dodging yet another sharp set of teeth. When he first gathered his wits upon entering the dungeon, he immediately found himself beset upon by a dozen zombie deer, all in a single wave. Through some clever use of the Shadow Imitation and almost every drop of chakra he had, he successfully disabled all of them with only a handful of bruises and a little dip in his HP. Before he could refresh, however, a piercing howl filled the air, and the Nara found himself pursued by a small pack of five undead wolves, their grey fur falling out in clumps, revealing open sores that oozed with decay. One was even missing part of its snout, which did nothing to deter it from trying to sniff him out as he hid in the trees above. He had taken out two with explosive tags before trying a hit-and-run tactic; he knew when they first appeared that if one got their teeth in him on the ground, the rest would be on him immediately and it would have been game over.

 _"Chakra is finally recovered back to 200, and my health and stamina are finally full,"_ he noted. He pulled out a handful of shuriken and took a deep breath. _"I need to save my explosive tags; I'm sure there's more after this, probably another undead ninja. Observe."_

 **"You have increased Observe to Level 10! You are now able to infer additional information from targets."**

 _Zombie Wolf (Lv. 15)_

 _An undead okami that hunts in packs. It's fierce bite can tear through iron, and it's sense of smell enables it to track its prey from miles away. It is driven by an insatiable desire to hunt; whether its prey is dead or alive matters not._

Clutching his kunai with white knuckles, the Nara dropped out of the tree and brutally stabbed the wolf below him in the head with his right and the neck with his left, using his weight to slam it to the ground, where it stopped moving. He immediately cast the Shadow Imitation Jutsu on both remaining wolves and charged them; to his amusement, they attempted to rush him on their hind legs, imitating the human attacking them as closely as possible thanks to the jutsu. He plunged the knives into their bellies multiple times before leaping back up the tree and letting himself breathe again. He acknowledged the alerts he received before waving them away, chuckling before going back on high alert in order to detect the next wave.

 _"200 EXP per wolf. And with the deer on this level being higher in level and worth 80 instead of 50, I'm well on my way to leveling up more than once..."_ he reasoned. His eyes scanned the ground along the riverbank before a rustling in the leaves behind him made him rapidly leave his perch. He glanced back and his eyes widened as he noticed several rusty kunai heading his way, which he hastily deflected. "Observe!"

 _Zombie Genin: Level 17_

 _The reanimated corpse of an unfortunate young shinobi who met its end far from home. Mindless, its sole purpose is to inflict pain upon and them consume the living._

"Mindless, my ass," Shikamaru growled as his enemy, also with a rusted Cloud forehead protector on its brow, clumsily flicked its decaying hands through a series of seals. "Can it even cast jutsu when its missing fingers like that?" he muttered. His rhetorical question was answered when a small ball of lightning formed in from of it and hastily flew his way. He ducked behind a tree and grimaced when the tree exploded, embedding sharp shreds of wooden shrapnel into his back and taking away 120 of his HP.

"Fuck this. Shadow Imitation Jutsu!" His shadow raced out, but the enemy leapt out of range before sending another ball of lightning his way. The Nara ducked behind another tree but timed it better, getting away before the blast tore the trunk to pieces. He sighed as he replaced his black blood-spattered kunai with two fresh ones, only this time two with explosive tags on them. He leapt back into the clearing and charged in the direction of the enemy and flung the explosive blades at him before ducking behind a tree on the far side and setting them off, only breathing a sigh of relief when he received a notification of receiving 400 EXP. He leapt back into the trees and immediately began scanning for another enemy, but relaxed when nothing appeared for a full minute and began collecting his loot.

To his surprise, the pelts he picked up from the zombie wolves appeared pristine, lacking the signs of decay the zombies had in their... life? Existence. He might actually be able to sell or use them for something. From the deer, he received the same assortment of rusty shuriken and kunai, deer antler for medicine, and tanned hides. From the zombie genin, he received a fair amount of cash, along with a very interesting scroll.

 **Jutsu Boost Scroll (Lv. 10): Adds 10 levels to any unmastered jutsu. Levels gained cannot exceed current maximum capability.**

"Escape Dungeon Jutsu."

The red world shattered around him, returning him to the familiar riverbank near his ancestral home. He immediately ripped his shoes off and collapsed by the water, letting his feet rest in the cool, crystal-clear water. He took a quick look at his recovering HP and grimaced before lying back with his hands behind his head, gazing listlessly at the clouds illuminated by the rising sun. He reached his hand up and murmured something he had refrained from looking at until he had had time to develop a plan of action. "Status."

 _"Hmm. Finally hit Level 14... and I have 15 points for stats saved and 8 for attributes... While I'm not where I can boost anything to 50, I do have some other accomplishments I can reach."_ His He placed all 15 points into WIS, bringing it to 35, which made it more than possible for him to finally learn the _Nara Diagnosis_ jutsu his father had given him and had the added benefit of boosting his chakra control to 72%. He had attempted to learn the _Nara Invigoration_ technique when his VIT hit 25, but to consume a scroll with multiple jutsu, he had to meet the requirements of _all_ jutsu contained in the scroll.

He flipped over to the attribute screen and scanned the available perks, adding the one that would be the most useful in the near future with his taijutsu training sessions with his mother:

 **I Know Kung Fu: Multiply EXP gained for taijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)**

He reached into his inventory, pulling the scroll from his father into reality and immediately affirmed the prompt to learn it, smiling as the scroll dissolved and the knowledge appeared within.

 **Learned: Nara Diagnosis (Level MAX): The user uses his or her chakra to detect foreign elements and status effects within an organic target. Must be in direct contact with the target. Chance of success is dependent upon INT. (CP: 30) (Range: S-)**

 **Learned: Nara Invigoration (Level 1): The user is able to shorten the length of time foreign elements or status effects have on an organic target. Must be in direct contact with the target. Chance of success is dependent upon INT, and may require specific consumable objects to succeed. (CP: 100) (Range: S-)**

The grimaced as he reflected on his time in the second level dungeon. His plan thus far had been solid on paper, but not in reality. Grinding control made it so he was able to use his jutsu effectively, but the jutsu he knew didn't cause any damage, and explosive tags, while effective, were expensive. It didn't help that he only had one tag left, wrapped around the handle of a kunai. So before he entered the second level dungeon again, let alone think about the third level he likely just unlocked, he needed to have an effective means of inflicting damage, or else he'd be putting his body in too much danger from the more powerful opponents.

The taijutsu training sessions with his mother would help, although he certainly didn't want to take on a Zombie Wolf with taijutsu alone; one wrong move and his fist would end up stuck in its fang-filled mouth. He didn't know any elemental ninjutsu beyond a simple fire-starting jutsu meant for camping and cooking that was the chakra-consuming equivalent of flint and steel. And while his natural element was lightning, he still had little to no success. Sure, he could make a light bulb explode, but the only thing that taught him was that getting shards of glass embedded in his hand hurt, Gamer's Body or not.

Shikamaru stood up and flicked the water off his feet before slipping his socks and boots back on. He wasn't in the mood to grind chakra control techniques at the moment, and there was something else that he hadn't crossed off his list that he could do: figure out what to do with the loot from the dungeons. With that in mind, he set out for the village market.

…

 _Konoha Outfitters_ was a store that could only exist in a ninja village, catering to both civilians and the military in a one-stop shop. Shinobi weren't the only ones to travel outside of the village, after all; anyone traveling needed the basic necessities for surviving outdoors. What set the _Outfitters_ apart from other shops was that it was staffed by fairly talented craftsmen, some of whom had failed in the shinobi academy but were able to use chakra to complete their craft. Custom commissions, while expensive, were their bread and butter, and the Nara clan had, at times, been a supplier of deer hides when the store's normal supplier ran out. As it stood, Shikamaru had nearly 30 units of deer antler, 16 old tanned deer hides, 3 wolf hides, and several handfuls of rusty kunai and shuriken that he might be able to sell as scrap metal. While he wasn't sure what he could get for it all, it was burning a hole in his inventory, so to speak. He pulled each item from his inventory before entering, placing them in plastic bags so they wouldn't see him pull them out of thin air.

After haggling with the shopkeeper, he was able to walk away with 4,000 ryo; not as much as he was hoping, but at least it was something. Walking through the market, he replenished his supply of kunai and shuriken, spending 800 of his new earnings. He successfully exerted his self-control and held himself back from buying any explosive tags; a small roll of 10 would set him back 5,000 ryo, which was about everything he had left. The long-term solution would be learning to craft them himself, but with his recently-discovered knowledge that the cheapest fuinjutsu tutor charged 3,000 ryo per two-hour session, and a full beginner's course being about 16 sessions, that wasn't something he was going to be pursuing any time soon.

He was pulled out of his musings when a flash of platinum blonde hair filled his vision. "There you are!"

Shikamaru blinked as Ino materialized in front of him, grabbing him by the arm. "Come on. I need back up."

"Uhh, hi Ino," Shikamaru managed as she began pulling him through the market. "Don't you have training today?"

"Mmm-hmm," she replied. "Asuma-sensei pushed it to eleven. Which gives us time to do this."

"Uhh..." Shikamaru managed. He glanced ahead and saw that she was pulling him towards a disgruntled-looking Choji, standing moodily with his arms crossed outside of a tea shop. "And what is this, exactly?"

She glanced at him, exasperated. "Don't you know anything that happens in this village?"

Shikamaru's eyebrows twitched. "It's like nine in the morning, Ino. What gossip could I have missed this early?"

"Forehead's back from her C-rank mission. And apparently, something big went down."

"Oh?" He knew that Team 7 had been out of the village on a mission, but didn't realize they had already returned. "How big? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're okay. They got back last night. But Forehead let it slip to her mom, who told my mom this morning, that that they had to fight one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

That got the Nara's attention. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were the bogymen of the shinobi world. More likely to go rogue than not, equipped with exceptionally powerful weapons that held few equals and that none had the knowledge to recreate. They were some of the most powerful ninja from the Land of Water, and a group the Leaf had had too many skirmishes with over the past few decades. He flinched at the thought of encountering just one of them at his current level. "Damn. And they're fine?"

"Apparently. They got several days off for R apparently, Kakashi and Sasuke got hurt some, but they were able to travel back okay. I want the details, so I got Forehead and Naruto to agree to tell me about it."

"Why does Choji look pissed?"

"Because he hasn't had breakfast yet. We've been looking for you."

"Ah." _"That DEFINITELY makes sense."_

"Yeah. Come on, they're probably waiting." Shikamaru gave Choji a grin and a fist bump as he walked up. Ino immediately walked in to the cafe and approached a large booth in the back, where an unpredictable blonde ninja was unsuccessfully chatting up a visibly annoyed kunoichi with pink hair.

Shikamaru smiled as he saw them- it had been a while since he had seen anyone from their academy days. "Yo, Sakura. Naruto."

"Hey, Shikamaru! What's going on!" Naruto gleefully greeted. Sakura nodded uncomfortably at them as they all sat down.

"Going good. Just been training. What about you?"

"Eh, it's been wild. We just got back to the village last night!"

Sakura sighed. "It's been a rough week," she admitted.

Choji, having just placed his breakfast order, turned back to his comrades. "Heard about the mission. How'd it go? Heard something happened."

Sakura laughed wearily. "Yeah, things happened. The client lied about the ranking- instead of minimal danger, we were attacked by ninja on the first day."

"Lying about the mission request? That's... bold," Shikamaru commented.

"What exactly happens when someone does that? I honestly don't know," Ino commented.

"... You know, I'm not sure. This was a weird case," Sakura admitted.

"Usually, the client gets blacklisted from making future requests," Shikamaru interjected. "And if a Konoha shinobi is injured or killed from the lie, the client is liable. In the ninja-sense." _"As in, we exact vengeance and take everything they have, and then either arrest or kill them."_

"I don't think that'll happen in this case," Sakura stated. "Their village is pretty poor, so they spent a lot of the community's funds on the village. Kakashi-sensei said something about us building a lot of good will, and that we'll likely be able to profit off of it for all future missions coming from the Land of Wave."

"Better be a lot of good will," Choji observed.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "They named the huge bridge our client was building after Naruto, so there's plenty of good will." Naruto sheepishly ducked his head.

Ino laughed. "They named a bridge after you? Did they know you're the dead last?"

"Hey! I've come a long ways since then!" the blonde objected.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he noticed Sakura give Ino a silent glare when she insulted her teammate. _"Damn. Things must have really changed if she's even minimally defensive of Naruto and insulted on his behalf.._."

"So who did you end up fighting? What happened after the first ninja attacked?" Choji prompted.

Naruto sighed. "Well first, these two guys came out of a puddle on the road and tried to kill us with these claw-things on their arms. Turns out they were missing nins from the Land of Water. We decided to keep going with the mission. When we got across the sea, the next guy attacked us."

"That was Zabuza, from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," Sakura interjected. "He and Kakashi-sensei fought, and at one point Sasuke and Naruto had to fight him, too, after sensei was captured. They got sensei free, who beat him up, then some masked guy hit Zabuza in the neck with senbon and took him away."

"Haku," Naruto breathed sadly.

"You're lucky someone was there to help," Shikamaru commented.

Sakura shook her head. "Turns out it was his apprentice, disguised. Zabuza recovered and attacked us a week later. The whole week, Kakashi-sensei was exhausted and on crutches, so he had us training on our own. By the time Zabuza and, uh, Haku, came back, he was better, though. They attacked us on the bridge."

"Damn," Ino breathed. "You can't even make stuff up this crazy."

Sakura smiled wryly. "Look underneath the underneath."

"How strong was the apprentice?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto frowned. "He had a special power. He could use ice."

"An elemental bloodline?!" Ino gasped. "Damn. Who beat him?"

Naruto sighed. "Sasuke and I fought him. Sasuke finally got his Sharingan, but the ninja was super fast and made these ice mirrors that he could hide in and attack from. Sasuke saved me from an attack, but was knocked out. I thought he was dead..." Naruto took a shuddering breath. "I went wild. Broke the mirrors, punched him so hard in the face he could barely get up."

"How did you do that anyways, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked at her uncomfortably for a second before glancing away. "I hit _really_ hard."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. _"Okay, that's weird. Naruto never had any techniques that would do more damage than anything Sasuke could do. How did he destroy something Sasuke couldn't?"_

"Anyways," Naruto continued. "He got away, took an attack and saved Zabuza's life from Kakashi-sensei, and died. Then the guy who hired Zabuza showed up and turned on him, and Zabuza took him out along with all of his thugs, but died afterwards."

"Good," Ino commented. "I feel better knowing those two aren't out there anymore."

Naruto frowned at that. "It's sad. Haku... didn't deserve to die like that. He was a good person. He just wanted the same thing I want- to protect my precious people."

"To protect my precious people..." Shikamaru breathed. He smiled. "I like that, Naruto."

Naruto nodded sagely. "That's my ninja way. I will never run away, I will never go back on my word, and I will do anything to protect my precious people."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No need to shout it. Use your inside voice, idiot."

"So Sakura... we heard about everyone else. What did _you_ do on the mission?" Ino asked, a dark glint in her eye.

Sakura grimaced and looked away. "Not enough," she said simply.

"Hey, that's not true! You helped us with learning how to climb those trees, and you took care of Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke when they were hurt," Naruto stated. Sakura smiled briefly at him in thanks but looked away, still upset.

Shikamaru gently tapped Ino's foot with his own, a silent way of telling her to back down. Thankfully, she got the message, right when their food arrive. The five ate quickly, the genin of Team 10 filling in the two from Team 7 about some of their training and comparing the habits of their sensei.

 _"Naruto must have gotten a lot stronger over the past several weeks if he's able to hold his own on a mission like that. I wonder just what he can do in a fight..."_

Shikamaru blinked in surprise as a blue screen appeared in his vision. _"Hmm. It's been a while since a quest like this appeared..."_

 **Quest: The Dead Last: Defeat Naruto in a friendly spar! Reward: 1000 EXP, Jutsu Scroll. Accept?**

Shikamaru accepted the quest and turned towards the blond with a grin. "So, Naruto, just how strong have you gotten?"

Naruto grinned. "A lot stronger! How about you?"

"Want to prove it? How 'bout a spar?"

Silverware clattered to the table as Choji started choking in surprise. Ino whipped her head around and stared at her teammate in shock. Even Sakura had a look of surprise on her.

"Kai!"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched as Ino tried to dispel what she assumed was a genjutsu. "I'm right here, you know."

Choji finally recovered and gazed at his old friend in amazement. "Dude, you sure you're okay? You just offered to do something. With someone."

"... I'm not that bad, Choji," he growled. He turned to the surprised Uzumaki and smirked. "How about it? I'm stronger, too."

"Oh, I see now. He's curious," Ino murmured. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Meh? Hell yeah!" Naruto slammed down the rest of his breakfast (a breakfast ramen, of all things), and stood up. "When do you want to do this?"

"How about now? Sakura, you down to be the witness?" The pinkette just nodded in agreement.

"Oh, this I wish I could see," Ino breathed. She glanced at the clock at the wall and cursed. "Damn, have to go meet Asuma-sensei soon. You'll tell me about this later, Shikamaru!"

Choji chuckled. "I have training to go to. Have fun, guys."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her off. "Where do you all normally train?"

"The Third Training Ground," Sakura stated.

"Then let's go," Shikamaru decided. He stood up and left some money on the table. "Before I realize how much of a drag this is."

Naruto laughed. "I knew that was coming at some point."

…

Shikamaru stood across from Naruto in the middle of the Third Training Ground, between three wooden posts and the riverbank. His eyes rested for a moment on the memorial stone in the corner of the field before turning back to his soon-to-be opponent. _"Observe."_

 _Naruto Uzumaki (Lv, 21)_

 _"The Number One, Knuckleheaded, Hyperactive Ninja"_

 _Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan, placed dead last in his class at the Konoha Shinobi Academy, but has grown by leaps and bounds. He possesses exceptionally powerful chakra. His past and circumstances are shrouded in mystery."_

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that. _"Damn, level 21. He's definitely stronger. What's with all the mystery in his description? That's cryptic. It's almost like the game is baiting me to look into Naruto's past, first with this spar, then that in the notes from observing him."_

He smirked a little as a small blue box popped up. _"Called it."_

 **Quest: The Conundrum: Investigate Naruto's circumstances and solve the mystery behind his rapid growth. Reward: 5000 EXP, Jutsu Scroll, ?**

Shikamaru's eyes widened. _"Woah, that's a lot for the rewards... What is going on here?"_

"Eh, Shika? You okay? You keep making faces."

Shikamaru schooled his expression and nodded. "Just thinking through some things. You ready?"

The Uzumaki nodded. "Let's do this."

Sakura sighed and stood between them, raising her hand in the air. "I'll call it. Fight!"

Shikamaru immediately flew through the hand signs for the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, sending his shadow towards the blonde in an attempt to end things quickly. Before the shadow made contact, Naruto surprised him by slamming his hands together in an unfamiliar hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With that, a massive cloud of smoke enveloped him.

"Shadow Clones, what the hell..."Shikamaru cursed. He felt his shadow make contact with his target, but immediately felt his chakra begin to be sucked away at an alarming rate as Naruto resisted. The smoke cleared, and Shikamaru's jaw dropped in surprise. "What the..." In front of him, the field was filled with clones of Naruto. Clones, which were supposedly Naruto's worst jutsu. And these clones cast shadows and bent the grass at their feet. Which meant... "Those are solid clones. Sixty something of them," the Nara stated aloud in shock. _"Observe! Well that did nothing..."_

 _Naruto Uzumaki (Lv. 21)_

 _Shadow Clone_

Naruto grinned. "Meet my Shadow Clone Jutsu! You better be ready, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru... was not ready. The clones charged, and he had to let his jutsu disperse. He tried to resist, but even with minimally better taijutsu than his opponent, the sheer numbers made it impossible to avoid every punch. He tried to cast the Shadow Imitation to catch as many as possible, but realized instantaneously that he would never be able to withstand the chakra drain of trying to holding enough of the clones. He tossed out a couple handfuls of shuriken and was slightly relieved to see several puffs of smoke as he eliminated some, but then the original Naruto in the back just put his hands together and summoned what appeared to be another five dozen. At which point one of the clones got a punch in on his face, at which point he lost focus and he started to get hit in the face more times than he appreciated.

"Oh, I'm fucked..." Shikamaru gasped. "That's it! I forfeit!"

"Match!" Sakura shouted. The field erupted in smoke as Naruto let his jutsu disperse and Shikamaru collapsed on his ass, more from shock than anything else.

 **Quest Failed: The Dead Last**

Naruto jogged forward and thrust his hand out and helped pull Shikamaru to his feet. "That was fun, Shika! That shadow thing you did was pretty awesome. What was it?"

"... That was a binding jutsu my clan uses," Shikamaru said slowly. "What was the, uh, shadow thing you did?"

"Oh, yeah! I guess you haven't seen me use those," Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I learned how to do them and Iruka-sensei passed me. They're shadow clones. They can only take a single hit, but they're pretty useful."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "It's an impressive technique. It's really helped out on our missions."

"Have you taught anyone?"

Naruto's expression turned serious. "No, gramps made me swear I wouldn't. Something to do with most people not having enough chakra. It's technically forbidden."

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up at that. "How many can you make? Is it always so many?"

Naruto shrugged. "The chakra control thing Kakashi-sensei showed us helped me control it some, but normally I just make however many I think I might need. I think the most I've made is... probably four hundred?"

"Four hundred," Shikamaru repeated. "And it's a technique that's banned because of how much chakra it takes."

"Yeah."

"Can you create just one at a time?"

"Yeah, although I have to focus really hard."

"... Naruto, how the hell is that possible?"

Naruto's expression turned guarded. "Eh, what do you mean? I've always had a lot of chakra, haha."

Sakura frowned. "You know, I've wondered that, too. The math is kind of crazy, when you think about it."

"Naruto, you just admitted to several _hundred_ times the amount of chakra necessary to perform that jutsu. A jutsu that's banned for people not having enough chakra to probably even make one."

"I guess I'm just that awesome! Hahaha!" Naruto laughed awkwardly.

Shikamaru took a deep breath. _"Okay, there's definitely something there. Now not only am I curious, but the Game wants me to find out, too. Nobody has that much chakra right out of the academy. I knew he had a lot, but never this much. It's insane. I'll play._ " The Nara reached out and pat Naruto on the shoulder. "Well, thanks for the spar. You definitely thrashed me."

Naruto relaxed and grinned. "We should do that again sometime. I'd love to see what your shadows can really do!"

Shikamaru grinned. "Oh, you will. Just wait- when I get stronger, we'll definitely fight again!"

"Hell yeah! I'll take you on anytime - believe it!"

…

Shikamaru took a big bite of the omelet he picked up from a street vendor on his walk back to his home. While he didn't need food, he was a little tired of the bruising around his face, so he snagged the first thing he _observed_ on his way that sped up HP recovery after getting decked so many times by Naruto's clones. _"Shadow clones... that sounds like it would be right up the Nara's clan alley, if only I had enough chakra,"_ he mused. _"I wonder if shadows are even involved in the technique. Four hundred... damn. I really underestimated him."_

He polished off the last bite and tossed the packaging in the trash before taking off down the road again. _"Let's see... I have two options: train chakra control, or try to finish the quest... Try to finish the quest."_ He headed straight to his clan's home and glanced around before tucking into the library. The Nara clan took care of several responsibilities for the village, only one of which was documenting all known medical procedures, poisons, remedies, and special dietary restrictions (of all things). The clan also maintained the village's historical clan documentation, a 'gift' from the Nidaime Hokage. Shikamaru suspected that the reason the texts were given to his clan for safekeeping was because Tobirama Senju knew that the Nara would not only protect them, but also only mess with them when absolutely, unavoidably necessary. Thus, they would be preserved within a beautiful space created by Hashirama Senju, and safe from the decaying touch of human hands due to the famous Nara laziness.

And normally it would stay this way. But Shikamaru had a hunch that the answer to Naruto's past lay within those texts. Why? Because Naruto was an orphan, and his parents' identities were unknown. Yet, he was given the last name Uzumaki, a name that neither he nor any of his peers recognized. Most unnamed orphans in a ninja village only took a surname when they either married or legally changed it, but Naruto was given this name at birth. It meant _something_.

The Nara browsed the shelves in the clan's library, and allowed himself a satisfied smile when he found exactly what he was looking for: a small pamphlet labeled " _Konoha Clan Records: Uzumaki Clan_." He set the text down on a table and sat down, gently turning the pages as he browsed. On the very first page, he received the first of many answers.

 _"So the Uzumaki clan is related of the Senju clan. A clan famous for producing kage-level shinobi with massive chakras and powerful life force."_ He flipped the page and scanned through a brief summary of clan traits. _"Hmm. Common trait of red hair, something Naruto lacks. The text notes that marriages outside of the clan are less likely to carry the physical characteristics, so still within the realm of possibility. High metabolism, hyperactivity, enhanced recovery from injury... these characteristics all fit..."_

"Woah..." Shikamaru paused when he scanned one very interesting piece of information. "A lifespan several decades older than normal, and slowed aging... not even the Senju were famous for that," he murmured. He flipped the page, and frowned at the black-and-white image that gazed back at him. A circle with a swirl inside. "That's..."

"The Uzumaki Clan Spiral, yeah. We wear it their memory."

"GAH!"

Shikaku laughed from where he was leaning against the entrance to the library as his son fell out of his chair. "You're a shinobi now. Nice awareness. I've been here for a couple minutes. We were eating lunch when you came in. Could have said hello."

Shikamaru grumbled as he picked himself up. "Sorry. Just looking something up."

Shikaku walked over and sat down across from his son. "Anything I can help with? This seems like a pretty specific something you're looking up."

Shikamaru hesitated. Shikaku reached over and slid the book over in front of him and started flipping through it. "You know, it's really sad, what happened to their clan. They were one of our closest allies during the founding of the village. Our clan was somewhat involved with them during the War Era, too."

"... What _did_ happen? They sound extremely powerful."

"... They were. That's what happened," Shikaku sighed. "The Village Hidden by Whirling Tides. The Village of Longevity. Uzushio, home of the Uzumaki Clan, was completely and utterly destroyed about twenty-five years ago, during the Second Great Ninja War. We actually don't know an official reason, but we believe it was because of their world-class capabilities regarding fuinjutsu that led Iwa and Kumo to attack them. Not to mention that they tended to have a surplus of kage-level shinobi, all of whom lived longer-than-normal lives and all of whom didn't lose a step like other shinobi as they grew older. An old shinobi is dangerous; an old shinobi in a younger one's body, most dangerous."

"Fuinjutsu..." Shikamaru muttered. "What would they have sealed that Iwa and Kumo were so afraid of?"

Shikaku spun the book around and set it back in front of his son. "Beats me. The great mystery." He stood up and started to leave before pausing. "Shikamaru..."

"Yeah, dad?"

The jounin commander turned around and look his son right in the eye. "Do not speak a word of anything you've discovered today to anyone, even to Naruto. That's an order from the Third Hokage."

Shikamaru blinked in confusion as his father left the room before glancing down at the page in front of him. _"What is he... Oh. Oh."_

 **Due to making logical deductions, you have increased INT by 5!**

 **Quest Complete: The Conundrum: Reward: 5000 EXP, Jutsu Scroll, Unlocked New Attributes for Purchase**

 _"Mito Uzumaki. Wife of Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage. Unique amongst the clan for possessing multiple advanced traits of the clan's heritage, among them a special fuinjutsu technique known as the Adamantine Sealing Chains, finesse with complex chakra manipulation, sensory ninjutsu, and an exceptionally powerful life force, making her one of the few candidates capable of sealing the most powerful bijuu, the Kyubi, within herself. After the conclusion of her husband's infamous earth-shaking battle with Madara Uchiha, she became the first known jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. For the rest of her life, she successfully suppressed the bijuu's chakra completely, only allowing the chakra to leak out for a brief moment during the birth of their first and only child."_

Shikamaru reread the entry several times, even after Gamer's Mind kicked in and calmed his nerves. _"The Nine-Tailed Fox is sealed within Naruto. Naruto's birthday is in October... to the date. Naruto is an Uzumaki, and his mother was likely an Uzumaki who died, causing the Kyubi to be released, and it was then sealed into him. And he can use its power, somewhat, but is afraid to talk about it. For obvious reasons. Damn. Wow."_

Shikamaru flipped the page, but the rest of the pages in the text were blank, not having been updated in, well, at least twenty-five years. "... I really, really underestimated Naruto," Shikamaru muttered to himself. Still a little stunned, and not knowing what else to do, the Nara opened his inventory and looked at the Jutsu Scroll he received, his eye widening in shock as he read the name.

 **You have received a jutsu scroll! Would you like to learn: Shadow Clone Jutsu? Yes, or no?**

Shikamaru hastily pressed yes, only to roll his eyes as the message he should have expected appeared:

 _ **You do not meet the requirements for Shadow Clone Jutsu. Req.: Base 100 VIT, Base 500 CP.**_

He reluctantly put the scroll back into his inventory and pulled open his status screen, noting that he leveled up twice for completing the quest. He placed all six new points into WIS, his current goal being getting it to 50. Vitality could come next. Noting that he had a total of 5 attribute points after leveling up twice and apparently some new available purchases, he flipped over to attributes and browsed.

…

 **Attributes to Purchase (AP: 5)**

 _Big Stick Diplomacy: Multiply EXP gained for bukijutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Dreamer: Multiply EXP gained for genjutsu by 50%. (AP: 5)_

 _Medicine Man: Multiply EXP gained for iryojutsu by 50%.(AP: 5)_

 _Do Not Consume If Seal is Broken: Multiply EXP gained for fuinjutsu by 50%._

 _Bye, Felisha: Increase chances of outwitting your opponent and escaping by 25%. (AP: 5)_

 _Will of Fire: When health is below 25%, double HP, CP, & SP regeneration. (AP: 10)_

 _Precious People: Increase all stats by 20 when ally within range is below 20% health. (AP: 10)_

 _Affinity: Water: Increase EXP gained for water ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of water ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Wind: Increase EXP gained for wind ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of wind ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Earth: Increase EXP gained for earth ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of earth ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Fire: Increase EXP gained for fire ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of fire ninjutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Yin: Increase EXP gained for yin jutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of yin jutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Affinity: Yang: Increase EXP gained for yang jutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of yang jutsu by 25%. (AP: 25)_

 _Shadow of Death: Prodigy of the Nara Clan. Increases CC magnifier by 50%, and boosts CP regeneration by 10%. Increases INT & WIS by 1 each per level gained. Multiply EXP gained for Nara Clan Techniques by 100%. Reduce CP costs of Nara Clan Techniques by 25%. Unlocks Shadow Travel Jutsu. (AP: 100)_

 _Neck of the Woods: Relative of the Senju clan, and inheritor of their powerful life force and chakra. Boosts HP, CP, and SP regeneration by 20%. Increases HP & CP by 10 per level gained. Increases STR & DEX by 1 per level gained. Unlocks Senju Clan Secret Jutsu. Prerequisite for Wood Release Ninjutsu. (AP: 100)_

 _Whirlpool of Expectations: Relative of the Uzumaki clan, and inheritor of their powerful life force and chakra. Boosts HP, CP, and SP regeneration by 10%. Increases HP & CP by 10 per level gained. Increases VIT & LUK by 1 per level gained. Unlocks Uzumaki Clan Secret Jutsu. Prerequisite for Adamantine Fuinjutsu. Slows down aging, and extends life expectancy by a factor of 1.5. (AP: 100)_

…

The young Nara's breathing hitched as he glanced at the three newest additions at the bottom of his purchasable list. Sure, they were expensive, but they were... gamechangers.

 _"I wonder if I can buy all three at some point..."_ he dreamed. He shook his head and brought himself back into the present moment. _"First, I need a much bigger source of attribute points. Otherwise, I won't be able to get these for years. Then I can worry about buying more than one._ "

He stepped out of the library and entered the dining room, catching his father as he stood up from the table. Shikaku locked eyes with his son and nodded. "Any questions?"

Shikamaru nodded. "A few. Should I or any of his teammates learn fuinjutsu?"

Shikaku barked a laugh. "The Yondaime was a fuinjutsu _master_. There isn't much you could learn that would be useful. Although it's always a wise art to pursue."

Shikamaru nodded. "I'd like to learn. Next... is anyone in our clan related to the Senju or Uzumaki?"

The jounin commander blinked in surprise. "Uh, okay. Not to my knowledge. There were rumors that Hashirama's son, Itoshi Senju, was a bit of a philanderer, but not with anyone of the Nara clan."

Shikamaru nodded again. _"This confirms that the game likely just makes perks like this happen, meaning there could be a lot more perks like these available for purchase in the future. Unless it's on mom's side."_ He placed his arms along the top of a chair and leaned forward lazily. "Thank you. Last question: why can't he know?"

Shikaku sighed. "I take it you filled in _all_ of the blanks?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming he's third generation."

"Kind of. He's not directly related to Mito Uzumaki," Shikaku confirmed slowly.

"But he is the child of the second jinchuriki. And he's not allowed to know who that is. But she can't be that famous, or else we'd probably know of her, like we know in a general sense about Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the Shodai Hokage."

Shikaku opened his mouth, then closed it, pondering his words, before chuckling. "I can't decide whether to just give it to you or risk you filling in the wrong blank, or figuring it out in a way that lets others in on the secret. She died far too young."

Shikamaru placed his hands together in a circle and closed his eyes, something he hadn't done in quite some time. It was something he liked to do when playing shogi- let his mind separate from his senses, and focus entirely on linear thought.

 _"How is Naruto different? He fits all the characteristics of an Uzumaki, but he's blonde... mother isn't famous, but should be... the secrecy means there's more at stake..."_

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. "He's blonde. And has blue eyes."

Shikaku exhaled. "That he does."

"Is he using the Nine Tail's chakra on a normal basis?"

Shikaku shook his head in the negative.

"Naruto can create hundreds upon hundreds of shadow clones in one go. Which means not only is he unique for an Uzumaki, but he likely inherited power from both sides of his family. Raw, untamed, kage-level power. We know chakra can be funny that way."

Shikaku nodded up and down.

"There aren't any pictures in our textbooks of the Yondaime's wife or family. But we are taught as fact in the academy that the only Hokage without immediately family was the Nidaime."

Shikaku nodded again, then held up his hand to stop his son's train of thought. "I think that's enough for now. If I may, I'd like to remind you of what I mentioned earlier, at the direction of the Sandaime."

Shikamaru nodded up and down.

Shikaku breathed out tiredly. "Shikamaru... Your mind will be your greatest asset and your biggest curse." He walked over and put his hands on his son's shoulders. "Your comrade has a great burden. He has not been told all of it because the burden is much too great for a child to handle all at once. The best advice I can offer is to be exactly what he needs- a friend."

"He said something to me today," Shikamaru said softly. "Something that stuck with me. He said that his ninja way is to never run away, never go back on his word, and to do anything to protect his precious people."

"That might be one of the best takes on the Will of Fire I've ever heard," Shikaku complimented. "A friend like that would make for a great friend indeed. We're defined and influenced by the people we choose to spend our time with, Shikamaru. He would be a good person to be around, and you would be a good person for him to be around. When the time is right, the Sandaime will handle the conversation you and I have had with him. Now... I have to go back to work. I snuck home just for a bite to eat. You going to train at your spot by the river?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You know about that?"

Shikaku laughed. "You aren't exactly silent, and it's not that far away."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah, not much to do besides chakra control until mom's free for taijutsu training."

"Well, let me offer one final piece of advice..." he leaned forward and whispered: "whatever you're doing... make sure no one's watching before you disappear and reappear out of thin air. Looks suspicious in a ninja village." With that, the commander walked out of the house, leaving a stunned genin in his wake.

"... Fuck."

…

 _"With each passing day, the afternoon sun shines ever more beautifully over our home,"_ Hiruzen Sarutobi mused as he gazed out from his open office window. He blew out a puff of smoke from his pipe, watching as it danced away in the gentle summer breeze. Two sharp knocks resounded through the office, bringing a deep sigh from the leader as he put out his pipe. "Enter."

"Lord Hokage," a gravely voice greeted. The Professor smiled and turned around from his view. "Shikaku Nara. Did you enjoy your lunch?"

Shikaku nodded as he approached the Hokage's desk, two insulated mugs clutched in his hand. "Still two sugars, yes?"

Hiruzen smirked in surprise. "An afternoon coffee? Just how I like it? I have never objected to that." He took the warm mug with a smile and turned back towards the window, his confidant and jounin commander joining him as they each took deep pulls of the rich brew. "And a dark roast, to boot. I'm afraid you have played your hand, old friend. You are wanting something."

Shikaku chuckled. "I'm the one who needed the cup of coffee, quite honestly." He reached into his jounin vest and pulled out a small flask. "Although, mine isn't quite finished yet." He poured a small finger of whiskey into his mug and swirled it before offering the flask to the God of Shinobi.

Hiruzen chuckled even more as he took the offered flask and poured himself two. "Oh, my. Well, this gift of an unexpected coffee should be enjoyed to its fullest."

"Indeed." Shikaku took a deep drag and sighed. "Had a talk with Shikamaru. You'll never guess what I found him doing when I got home."

"More training?"

"Hmm. If only," Shikaku laughed, then turned serious. "He came home, snuck straight into the library, and immediately pulled down one and only one book: a history of the Uzumaki clan."

The Sandaime took a sharp breath. "I see. And he figured it all out?"

"Mmm-hmm. All of it. _All of it_."

"Does he know to keep his mouth shut?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"What clued him in?"

"He claims the number of shadow clones Naruto can make, but I'm not sure that's it. I still think something's driving him. I told him I knew about his little disappearing act. Scared the shit out of him before I walked away."

"And I'm sure you did nothing to help him come to the correct conclusions."

Shikaku hesitated. "He was already there mentally, I just decided I'd rather be present when he figured it out than not."

Hiruzen nodded and then took a sip from his own beverage. "Have no fear. I am not overly concerned - it was only a matter of time before his mind caught on to what was right in front of him."

"Right." Shikaku glanced at his kage with a frown. "You're okay with this, aren't you..."

Hiruzen shrugged, a wry smile on his lips. "I know... that Shikamaru is a proud shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, and that he has not given us any reasons to suspect treachery on his behalf. He's young, but very sharp, and the dedication he has shown to his craft in the past several weeks is astounding. He's still young, Shikaku - his curiosity will temper in time. You'll see as he goes through his teens."

Shikaku blinked in surprise. "I'm glad we're of the same opinion regarding his stance in the Leaf, but I don't see how this is related to his entering his teens."

Hiruzen laughed. "This might be the least thing you worry about when he's in his teens. Oh, the things Asuma put me through... The things he put Biwako through..." He took another sip of his coffee. "I have a theory about what you brought to my attention, his little disappearing act. But I'd rather he came to trust us with it on his own. It would be quite embarrassing if my assumption were wrong. Do not be concerned - I have seen similar things before, and they were not untoward."

"Hmm. I trust your judgment, Lord Hokage."

The two paused for a moment of silence, enjoying the breeze from the open window and the soothing, warm beverage clasped in their hands.

Shikaku cleared his throat. "Any other new difficulties I should be aware of?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Difficulties? One might call them difficulties." He took a moment to signal his ANBU to seal the room, and paused to shut the window before continuing. "A handful of teams are coming from the Village Hidden in the Rain, but we have reason to believe that Hanzo the Salamander is no longer the leader of the village. It also appears that the country hasn't experienced a break in the rain now for fourteen months, which shouldn't be possible. It suggests that the rain itself is a sensory jutsu, which also explains why we have not been able to successfully plant a single spy within twenty miles of the hidden village." Hiruzen took a long sip from his coffee. "There is also a new village which has requested to participate: the Village Hidden in Sound. The village is technically in the Land of Rice Paddies, but with the establishment of the village, a portion of the country declared independence and is calling itself the Land of Sound. While there are many ninja clans present in the region, they have never successfully allied before, and most have weak alliances with shinobi clans in the Great Nations, like how the Fuma Clan is an ally to the Sarutobi and Yamanaka Clans here in Konoha. Our intelligence thus far suggests that most of the clans in the region have either disappeared or left the region. My intuition suggests something far sinister: that they have been captured or wiped out by this new nation."

Hiruzen sighed. "I want to extend the hand of peace to this new village and extend them an official invitation to participate in the exams, but I fear that there is much to this village that has yet to emerge."

"Where exactly is this new village at?"

"That's the most peculiar part. It appears that this village is not a village at all, but rather simply a consortium of shinobi. We have not found a home 'village' within the country: there may not even be one."

Shikaku frowned. "That shouldn't be possible. Without any civilians, they would have to steal or import everything they need, and there wouldn't be a steady source of tax income."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Which is why I and my student suspect that the 'village' is really a consortium of shinobi who have nowhere else to go, and who have little obligation to respect an alliance. Rejecting them from the exams is a delicate process, however, since their country borders the Land of Fire."

"Are you sure they will survive the next two months until the exams?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "If there's one thing we know, Shikaku, it's that we aren't that lucky. And supposedly their leader is a kage-level shinobi. One whose identity we are not aware of, and who is situated not far from our border."

"True." With that, he chugged the rest of his coffee and stretched. "Well, I'll be in my office. I review the reports and jot down my thoughts about Rain and the Sound villages."

Hiruzen nodded. "That would be most appreciated." The Hokage waited until the Nara closed his office door behind him before popping his window open yet again and enjoying the last few sips of his coffee, tipping the mug as high as he could to enjoy the last drop.

"Dealing with Shikaku's son might be the easiest thing on my plate today," he murmured. His eyes hovered over the crystal ball sitting on the coffee table by his sofa, the one which, to his surprise, had allowed him to watch as the young genin battled against undead creatures and resurrected enemies in a dimension not their own. While his lengthy shinobi career had taught him to expect the unexpected, this was something beyond expectation, and something nearly impossible to bring about in conversation. He could certainly understand the genin's hesitation in telling his parents about his new abilities- who in their right mind would believe him? Who in their right mind would believe an aging Hokage telling them the same things? Military dictatorship did not transcend suspected dementia in a ninja village. While he knew he was far from anything of the sort, those who would seek his position wouldn't mind if he came out with something as outlandish as inter-dimensional undead forest life. He glanced back at the mess of paperwork and reports strewn across his desk and let out a deep groan in frustration. "I'm going to need another coffee. And possibly another shot..."

…

…

…


	7. Man on a Mission

_This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto" or the "Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!_

 _I happened to have a little more free time these past few days, so why not post a little early? Enjoy!_

…

The Nara clan had a love-hate relationship with fire. One would think that shadow users would find joy in something that would make the shadows dance. With fire, however, the shadows do not dance; light dances across the darkness, and chaos erupts. Fire destroys what shadows emulate: stillness and peace. And yet, with a twist for the ironic, the majority of Nara clan members inherited a natural predisposition towards the fire element, in terms of nature manipulation, and so by their teenaged years, they learnt how to play with fire.

To help them on the path, all Nara children were taught a simple fire-manipulation jutsu, one that created just kinetic energy to set flame to a piece of charcoal. As the practice married tradition, the Nara clan began many of their instructional sessions at night, around a bonfire. That was the story his father told him, when he asked why they had to always sit outside, around a fire, when trying to learn how the basics of Nara clan ninjutsu. Shikamaru held a slightly different theory regarding the history, knowing the clan's lack of concern for sentimentality, and called bullshit. It was really just too troublesome for someone to run cables or set up a generator out in the training grounds; much easier to just make a fire, especially since they only trained like that a few times a year.

That was the quintessential Nara clan practicality: solve the immediate problem by wasting the last amount of effort possible. There was a running joke in the village: an Inuzaka, a Yamanaka, and a Nara were at a home with the electricity went out during a storm. The Inuzaka praised the opportunity to be closer to nature and went about gathering materials for a fire. The Yamanaka checked the area for vengeful spirits, then engaged in peaceful meditation to calm their own spirit. The Nara clan member... walked to the basement and checked the fusebox.

And so, Shikamaru found himself around a bonfire once again, only this time, it was not to learn the foundations of his clan's ninjutsu. This time, it was to learn the foundations of his mother's taijutsu. Or at least, to avoid getting his head bashed in by her. He dodged to the side and backflipped away her as she attempted to slam her heel into the side of his face again.

"Widen your stance! Find your balance. Establish yourself, Shikamaru! Establish yourself," Yoshino Nara changed. Then she ruined her image as a masterful mentor by grinning like a fool and charging at him again.

 _"You are enjoying this way too much, mother..."_ Shikamaru thought to himself as he deflected another flurry of strikes from the retired chunin. _"Retired my ass... she just doesn't take missions anymore."_ He winced as he noticed a dark glint spring to life in her eye again. _"It's been a couple of minutes since she hit me. Oh, shit..."_

Yoshino barked a laugh then disappeared faster than the young genin could track, suddenly appearing within his guard, her heel inches from his head.

"Establish, Shikamaru!" And with that, she drove him to the ground with a massive kick.

"Ugh..." he groaned as he both felt and watched his HP take a sharp dip. After his conversation with his father a few days ago, Shikamaru had decided to avoid entering the natural dungeon until he could either come up with an excuse or find a way to not get caught entering and exiting. As a result, he had instead spent every hour of every day on his new chakra control exercises, gaining jutsu experience in lieu of leveling up. Then, to his surprise, his mother popped by in the morning and told him that she had cleared her schedule, and that they would begin his taijutsu training that evening, by the light of a bonfire.

He spent about two minutes showing her what he knew of the academy taijutsu techniques from his maxed-out, level 25 Academy Taijutsu, before his mother abruptly cut him off and began showing him her own taijutsu style, a style taught to her by her jounin-sensei, and one seen less frequently in the ninja world due to the minimal focus on weapons training. She called it Shorinji Kempo, and the game recognized it as such:

 **Beginner's Shorinji Kempo (Lv. 3): An ancient, holistic martial way that focuses on self-defense, mental, and health training.**

He hit level three after the first two hours spent holding the katas, 'establishing himself,' as she chanted, while she tried to hit him. And she hit him a lot. On the bright side, his physical endurance had increased to 4%. And now, as she stood over him and offered a hand to pull him up, Shikamaru was reminded of why his mother had been considered one of the rising stars of her generation. _"Observe."_

 _Yoshino Nara (Lv. 72)_

 _"The Ferocious Flame"_

 _Yoshino Nara née Kobayashi was a combat-oriented medical kunoichi who achieved fame during the third Great War for her ferocity and courage on the battlefield. She became infamous for her ability to bounce back from severe injury quickly and return to the battlefield, often dealing the final blows to enemies that had thought her defeated. Due to multiple attempts upon her life due to her connection to her husband, Shikaku, she was forced to withdraw from the field and focused primarily on raising her son, Shikamaru. She continues to assist her peers at the Konoha General Hospital as a consultant, and maintains her taijutsu and fire ninjutsu skills in order to protect the ones she loves._

His mother was also the reason he finally used up the **Jutsu Boost Scroll** he had received in the dungeon. Tired of not being able to 'see' anything, and finally appreciating just what his 'Observe' ability could do, Shikamaru spent it on that skill, bringing it up to level 21, and revealing even more about his targets.

Shikamaru panted as his mother pulled him yet again up to his feet. He glared at his status window in the corner, informing him that his SP was at zero yet again. "I think..." he gasped, "that I need a few."

Yoshino sighed. "Fine." She tossed a water bottle at him and squatted down by the fire. "So what do you think?"

"About what?"

She rolled her eyes. "About this? Do you enjoy it? Not all taijutsu styles fit everyone."

Shikamaru frowned. "I don't think I know it well enough yet to say."

She chuckled. "Not true. Does it literally feel uncomfortable to you? As in, does it feel unnatural?"

"Hmm... No, it seems fine."

"Good. Then we can keep doing this," she stated. "There'd be no point in continuing if it wasn't a good fit."

He nodded in agreement, too busy gulping down the vitamin water to say anything different.

"This is nice. Haven't had a workout like this in a while... with anyone," Yoshino commented. "I miss it, you know. Not the war. Just being active. And I always loved a good fight."

"Why don't you go back? You're still strong," Shikamaru observed.

Yoshino laughed. "It's not so simple. Besides, who'd take care of the deer? Who'd take care of your dad? Who'd balance the clan checkbooks?" She let out a deep sigh. "Fact is, Shikamaru, someone has to do it. And your father sure can't, with his duties as commander. And your uncles definitely can't. So, right now, it's me or nothing." She stretched her arms above her head and smiled. "But as long as we can keep doing this, I'll be fine."

Shikamaru smiled. "I'd like that. This has been really helpful already."

She raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think you'd be that open to this. You've never liked physical activities. Or being outside."

He shrugged. "I enjoy different things now."

"The entire time tonight, you were smiling," Yoshino observed. "I'm starting to worry that you're an adrenaline junkie like me."

"Something like that," Shikamaru laughed. They sat in the silence of the night for a few moments, enjoying the warmth of the flames against the cool night air. "Random question: are you in any way related to the Uzumaki or Senju clans?"

"Huh, what?" Yoshino sputtered. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Something dad and I were talking about. Was researching clan histories and wondered."

She just started laughing. "Shikamaru, my mom was a hairdresser, and my dad ran a tea shop. I think I'd have been a little better off if I'd been a Senju. Or dead."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged. "Haven't you noticed? There aren't any more Senju around anymore. Besides Tsunade, but she's the last one."

"I know what happened to the Uzumaki clan. What happened to the Senju?"

"Well, the Senju... kind of just died off."

He frowned. "They just died off?"

"Yeah, it was weird. The Shodai Hokage and his wife had one son, who then only had two kids. One died young on a mission, and the other was Tsunade of the Sannin. The Nidaime Hokage never married, and never had any children that we know of. As for the rest of the clan... They just... started dying. On missions, of old age... They weren't as numerous as the Uchiha clan was, and after a few generations, there were only a handful left. By the end of the third Great War, there was only Tsunade and a handful of elders left, and they've all passed away over the last decade."

"It's just hard to believe, considering how powerful they once were."

"There were suspicions of foul play, but nothing that could be proven. They did have a lot of enemies, and by the time the village was founded, the only shinobi they had left above jounin-level were Hashirama and Tobirama," Yoshino commented. " The gap between the two brothers and the rest of the clan was huge, and the power difference between Hashirama and Tobirama was pretty noticeable, too. The Nidaime didn't develop into the all-powerful genius we know him as today until several years after the village's founding. Honestly, the Uchiha were in the same boat- Madara Uchiha was so far above the rest of his clan members that he was the only Uchiha shinobi taking missions for a while in the early days of the village, so that the clan could recover and develop. The Senju typically lived well into old age, if they made it that far; something to due with their heritage. But ever since the village was founded, most never lived past their seventies." She shrugged, then grinned. "You never know. It's possible there are more Senju around. Hashirama's son, Itoshi, was supposedly a bit of a playboy back in the day. Mom used to tease my grandma about him, and grandma would always joke about how dreamy he was compared to your great-grandfather. Maybe she did more than dream," she joked.

Shikamaru laughed awkwardly. _"Apparently, she definitely did do more. She did him."_ After the genin discovered that he could unlock perks from the Nara, Senju, and Uzumaki clans, he went into the clan library and began researching as many famous clans as possible. So far, those were the only perks to appear, making him believe that the game had brought into the forefront something already within reality rather than rewriting it.

He blinked in surprise as he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder, then received a notification that his SP was replenished. Yoshino gazed at him with a warm smile before standing up. "That should take care of any soreness. I think we've trained enough for tonight. You want to try again tomorrow night?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. I look forward to it," she said fondly. Her fingers flew through hand signs, and she spat out a globule of water that put out their little bonfire. "But now... Time for bed. No buts, Shikamaru. You better not try to sneak out tonight, either. Understood?"

"Yes, mother."

…

Shikamaru winced as he rubbed the back of his shoulder, where moments before a senbon had punctured through his armor. It turned out that Asuma had been working with their blonde-haired teammate on more than just chakra control during their week apart- he had also put her through more grueling physical conditioning than she had ever thought possible, and it had most definitely paid off. Most importantly, their sensei had instilled something in her that she had been lacking: confidence. Not arrogance, which was something she had in spades, but true confidence- the knowledge of her strengths, the awareness of her weaknesses, and the wherewithal to do something with or about them. Shikamaru knew Ino was talented - she always had held her own in the academy, even if she preferred not to get dirty, or wanted to spend more time gossiping than doing push ups.

And yet here she was, putting Choji on his back feet in a spar. Upon reuniting as a team, Asuma announced that they would begin taking d-rank missions that afternoon, something the three were actually looking forward to, as it meant that they were finally beginning their shinobi careers, at least on paper. He also announced that it would benefit them to see how strong each other had become, so he immediately set each of the up against each other in spars. Shikamaru received two quests for this:

 **Quest: Ino-SchmIno Redux! Defeat Ino in a spar! Reward: 500 EXP, 3 ST. Penalty: Loss REP with Ino, Choji, & Asuma.**

 **Quest: Big-Boned Brawl! Defeat Choji in a spar! Reward: 500 EXP, 3 ST. Penalty: Loss REP with Ino, Choji, & Asuma.**

The spar against Ino had been fun, at first, giving him an opportunity to practice his new taijutsu on one of his peers. Until she put distance between them and started flinging senbon. He had sheltered behind a tree, only for her to surprise him with the academy's clone technique and sneak behind him, where she attempted to possess him using her clan's Mind-Body Switch Technique. To which Shikamaru merely received a single notification:

 **Gamer's Mind Activated. Possession resisted.**

 **Quest Completed: Ino-SchmIno Redux! Reward 500 EXP, 3 ST.**

Ino had woken up, sputtering in surprise, and claiming that she basically bounced off of his brain the second her spirit made contact with it. He had shrugged, told her that maybe she shouldn't try to possess people smarter than her, which was apparently not the right thing to say. She was now attempting to skewer Choji in their spar while the Nara pulled sharp objects out of his body.

Ino struck forward, pushing hard and scoring a hit with a kunai on Choji's shoulder before he disappeared into smoke, leaving a small log in his place. Ino spit out a curse before a massive first impacted her cheek from the side, sending her careening to the earth.

"Partial-Expansion Jutsu!" Choji called out with a grin.

Asuma stood tall and held his arm in the air. "Winner, Choji!"

Choji helped their blond teammate up before holding out a bag of his recent, 'healthier,' go-to, kale crisps. "You okay? Would you like a snack?"

Ino just growled at him and stomped away, clutching her already-swollen face. Asuma just chuckled and summoned a disposable ice pack from a scroll and tossing it to her.

"Why don't you take a break for a bit. Choji, catch your breath, then let Shikamaru know when you're ready."

"Sensei, I'm fine." He put his chips back away in his pouch, chewed quickly, and started stretching. "We can go now."

Shikamaru sighed and leapt out to the middle of the clearing, assuming his new kempo stance. _"Observe. Observe. Observe."_

 _Choji Akimichi (Lv. 21)_

 _"The Sensitive Shinobi"_

 _Choji Akimichi, the heir of the Akimichi clan and muscle behind Team 10. He has two great fears: missing a meal, and letting down his teammates. He secretly is unhappy with his weight, and constantly yearns to eat to avoid thinking about the problems in his life. He cares fiercely for his comrades, and strives to become big and strong enough to be the shield that protects them. While he would rather avoid violence, Choji is slowly awakening to the understanding that he must fight in order to achieve peace._

 _Ino Yamanaka (Lv. 19)_

 _"Princess Pig"_

 _Ino Yamanaka, the heiress of the Yamanaka clan and gossip queen of her generation. She strives to find her prince charming, but has recently come to the realization that that prince will only notice her if she is alive (rather than dead), and so has dedicated herself to learning the shinobi arts and mastering her clan's secret jutsu. She takes great pride in being a member of the newest generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, but hopes to be known for more than her clan's techniques._

 _Asuma Sarutobi (Lv. 162)_

 _"Shinobi Knight"_

 _Asuma Sarutobi, the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Currently holds a bounty, furnished by proxy by the Land of Earth for 35,000,000 ryo, dead or alive. Asuma left the Village Hidden in the Leaves in his youth after a disagreement with his father. After spending time with the Twelve Ninja Guardians of the Land of Fire, Asuma eventually reconciled his point of view and decided to return home, decided to pass his teachings on to the next generation and to protect what was truly most important: the King._

"Begin!"

Shikamaru flipped his hands through the seals for the Shadow Imitation, pausing on the last sign and waiting to cast until he could see what Choji was up to. His oldest friend took a deep breath, then suddenly his body expanded like a giant balloon. He tucked his head and extremities in, then started rolling at an extremely alarming speed. "Human Boulder Jutsu!"

"Oh, hell. So that's what he learned. Shadow Imitation!" Shikamaru sent his shadow towards the Akimichi barreling towards him, but the second their shadows connected the Nara felt himself flung across the battlefield through centrifugal force while their sensei just laughed from the sidelines.

"Why do I feel like this isn't the first time this has happened," Shikamaru mumbled to himself as he picked himself up. He glanced up to see Choji adjusting his course and rolling rapidly towards him. He flipped his hands through seals, and the moment Choji made contact, Shikamaru disappeared, leaving a smooshed log in his place. Not seeing his opponent on the field, Choji stopped rolling and let the jutsu disperse.

"Forgot to look up."

Choji's eyes widened as a shadow fell over his eyes, and Shikamaru came down from the sky and threw a kick at him, which the Akimichi blocked with his arms. Shikamaru pushed off, his hands moving through seals again. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu."

Choji leapt away with surprising swiftness and avoided the shadow stretching across the ground, then performed his own jutsu, turning himself into a giant boulder once again. Before he could start rolling, though, Shikamaru threw as many shuriken as he could around his oldest friend, giving him no direction to roll without injuring himself. The Akimichi let his jutsu drop again and made to leap over the blades, but Shikamaru's shadow was too fast, and he found himself locked in place.

"Shadow Imitation: Complete. Give up, or you do a faceplant into the really, really sharp ground, man."

"I give! I give!"

Asuma groaned. "Choji, we're really going to have to work on strategy with you. Nice job, Shikamaru."

 **Quest Complete: Big-Boned Brawl! Reward: 500 EXP, 3 ST.**

"Sorry, sensei..." Choji immediately pulled out his bag of crisps and started munching while Shikamaru picked up all of his shuriken. Asuma sighed and walked over to the Nara.

"So... learn anything?"

"A bit about physics. You've seen that before?"

Asuma laughed. "Your dad told me what would happen if you tried to catch a moving Akimichi Boulder. Said something about that being something he wouldn't show you for a while."

"Of course," the Nara rolled his eyes.

Asuma pulled a cigarette out from his pocket and put it between his lips, unlit. "Well, this has been a fun morning. How about we go on our first mission! Given what day it is... who wants to bet that we'll be walking dogs?"

"... Yay," the genin cheered with a succinct lack of enthusiasm.

…

Asuma hadn't been joking about the dog-walking missions; when Team 10 approached the Mission Assignment desk at the academy, that was all that had been left for the day: three different dog-walking missions. Asuma selected the one with the fewest number of dogs, which happened to be six. Shikamaru, however, received an interesting alert when they accepted the mission: the missions they received at the desk became listed on his in-progress quest list. He also noticed that the rewards on his quest list matched his portion of the monetary rewards that he would be receiving from completing the quest, with one small addition: two (2) very valuable AP points. There wasn't any EXP awarded, but the AP was reward enough, and he supposed EXP would only make sense if there had been combat involved.

It wasn't until they returned from their first d-rank and accepted a second (another dog-walking mission) that Shikamaru realized that their second mission also rewarded him with two (2) AP points. While he would need to accept many more missions before proving his theory, it would appear that every d-ranked missions would come with a standard reward of 2 AP points, along with whatever payment had been put up for the mission.

And while walking those dogs around the village, Shikamaru came to yet another realization: ever since becoming a genin, he hadn't been paying much attention to the village around him, and he was starting to regret not exploring and spending time leveling up _Observe_. For right in the middle of the park, on the edge of a large fountain, he found a new natural dungeon.

 **You have discovered a natural dungeon: Senju Park. Enter? Yes or no.**

Shikamaru hastily selected 'no,' not wanting to disappear from the middle of a mission. But it was a safe assumption that the location would be marked in his journal, and he could read it later, and possibly explore the dungeon later. After he developed a plan for not getting caught. He needed to be careful entering and exiting dungeons, since he was apparently under watch. But in the meanwhile, d-rank missions could very well be his path to power. "Hey, Asuma-sensei..."

"Hmm? Yes?" Asuma turned around, a single dog leash in his hand while his genin behind him each walked two large hunting dogs.

Shikamaru jerked one of the dogs back onto the path before continuing. "Is it possible to take d-rank missions on my own, or can we only do them together?"

"... Kai!" Ino & Choji shouted together, attempting to disrupt whatever genjutsu they were in.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I'm standing right here..." he muttered. Asuma snickered, prompting him to elaborate. "I want to be tutored in fuinjutsu, but the classes are expensive. I figured I might be able to take some missions in my free time to save up."

"Okay, that makes sense. Fuinjutsu is a noble art that I believe you might enjoy quite a bit," Asuma acquiesced. "I actually did the same thing as a genin. Needed to get lessons on wind jutsu, and there was only one other person in the village with a natural element for wind. It's really rare in Konoha."

"That's pretty awesome, sensei."

"I sure think it is," he laughed. "I only took a couple of lessons before he passed away.

And then after that I ended up being away for a while and was able to piece some of my jutsu together as I went." He coughed into his hand. "But to answer your question, sure. Just realize that if you fail, the ramifications are on you. And a lot of d-ranks are oriented towards teams, just like this one. Good luck walking seven dogs."

Shikamaru nodded. "I'm sure they know at the desk which ones to give individuals and which ones to teams."

Asuma coughed again. "... I think you overestimate how much some people care, Shika. Always read the scroll before accepting the mission, and don't let it cut into your training. If your development suffers, I'll have to cut you off. And it's much easier to cut you off than to get re-approved for solo work."

"Good to know."

"How about this. We're technically done with team training for the day after this. Ino, Choji, you two can go after we get these dogs home. Shikamaru, see if there's a mission when we get back. If it's something I think you can handle, go for it."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thank you, sensei."

…

"You sure? First day of missions, and he wants a solo one?" Izumo Kamizuki asked as he flipped through the missions list.

Asuma shrugged. "He's ambitious. I have faith in him."

Izumo sighed before turning to the Hokage, seated next to him. "Any objections, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen sat still, puffing on his pipe, staring the young Nara straight in the eyes for a moment before smiling warmly. "No objections here. Tell me, do you have the scroll for the mission we were going to assign tomorrow regarding the Second Training Ground?"

Izumo blinked in surprise. "Yes, sir. I thought you wanted a full team to do that one."

"I think it will be perfect for Shikamaru. His abilities should enable him to accomplish this with ease," Hiruzen complimented. Asuma raised an eyebrow at his father, but the Hokage subtly caught his eye, and he backed down, recognizing that the old man had something up his sleeve. The Sarutobi snatched the scroll from his chunin assistant and tossed it to the genin to read. "The Second Training Ground is in need of assistance. Wild pigs have been wreaking havoc across the training grounds. You mission is to defeat these creatures and restore peace to the site. Do you accept?"

Shikamaru quickly perused the mission scroll, finding it to be word for word to the Hokage's speech. His eyebrows widened as he noted the potential reward.

 **Quest: D-Rank: Pigging Out: Defeat 5 Wild Boars at the Second Training Ground. Reward: 1000 EXP, 5,000 Ryo, 2 AP. 0/5 Defeated. Accept?"**

"I accept," the Nara murmured.

Asuma opened his mouth to protest but his father cut him off again. "Dismissed. Please attend to the matter immediately; when you are finished, please report to my office rather than this desk, as they will be dismissed by the time you are finished. Asuma, a word."

Shikamaru bowed and dashed out of the hall. Hiruzen stood up and walked around the desk, gesturing for his young son to walk with him. They exited and took the stairs up, emerging on the rooftop of the academy building. Hiruzen took a deep breath of fresh air before turning and smiling warmly at his irate son.

"You can't be serious, even if it's wild animals. It's their first day of missions."

Hiruzen chuckled. "You've trained him well. He should be more than capable of culling a few wild animals. They can't, after all, climb trees or walk on water. Or throw weapons at him."

"Hmph." Asuma grunted and turned away. "It just feels wrong, having him go on a solo mission where he'll have to fight something, alone."

"Well, it's a good think you'll be there with him, isn't it?"

Asuma blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I assigned this mission to him, my son, specifically because of the combat. He has a special ability that I'd like to test. I'd like you to follow him. Make sure he isn't in any life threatening danger, but let him engage. I think he'll surprise you." Hiruzen paused to take a deep breath of the fresh, evening air. "You might see some... odd things happen. Let them happen, and do not let him know you are present unless his life is in immediate danger. When he is finished, come to my office immediately so that we may speak before he arrives. I have some things to prepare in the meanwhile."

Asuma groaned in irritation before rolling his shoulder and stretching. "I expect an explanation."

"You'll get one, if I'm right," Hiruzen commented. He watched as his confused son took off over the rooftops in secret pursuit of the genius genin. Hiruzen briskly began walking down the stairs, a grim expression on his face. "Hell, I'll need one."

…

Shikamaru checked his map once again before lightly jogging down the road towards the Second Training Grounds, located just outside the walls and in the forest. He'd heard of wild boars causing disruption before, but never of them being so close to the village. He checked his inventory and grimaced as he took stock. _"Only one single exploding tag. Should be fine- I have plenty of shuriken and kunai. If I have to, I'll stand on water or in a tree and snipe them."_

A sheet metal sign with a giant red "2" painted on it let him know that he had finally arrived. He stopped outside the gate and pulled up his stats before moving forward. _"I received some points from the quests earlier, and leveled up... Finally. Let's see what this does..."_ Shikamaru added all nine of his stat points into WIS, finally bumping it up to 50.

 **Congratulations! Your wisdom has reached 50! As a reward, you have unlocked the attribute: 'Inner Eye': Boosts the CP magnifier by 100%. Boosts the CC magnifier by 50%. Increases the rate at which spiritual resistance improves by 50%.**

 _"Oh, that's REAL nice,"_ Shikamaru thought with a grin. If wisdom increased his strength with chakra and spiritual resistance so much, he could only imagine what leveling up STR and VIT would do. _"Unlocking 'Inner Eye' doubled my chakra points... but tanked my control since I have more CP,"_ he observed. _"Well, it's still better than it was, and with everything considered, 50% CC is still better than it used to be."_

Dismissing his screens, he launched himself up into the trees and pulled out two kunai, keeping as silent as possible in order to find his prey. Movement in the underbrush and the sound of rooting snapped his attention to the west. _"Observe."_

 _Wild Boar (Lv. 14)_

 _A juvenile boar, recently escaped from the Zeroth Training Ground where it was born and raised. The boar only wants to eat without ceasing, and will attack with a fierce rage anything that obstructs its yearning to forage for food. Its sharp tusks are coated in a bacteria that can lead to severe infection within an hour._

Shikamaru readied his kunai, then paused as he noticed more rustling nearby. He took another leap to get a better shot, knowing that once he engaged, he'd likely be set upon by the rest of the beasts. He dropped from the sky and slammed his blade into the back of its head, bringing it down in silence.

 **Critical Hit! 2x Damage! Wild boar defeated! 150 EXP. 1/5 defeated.**

Shikamaru took to the trees again, then glanced down as movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. His eyes widened as where the pig's corpse had been now laid a small bundle of cash and two boar's tusks. _"Interesting... This is the first time I've killed an enemy outside of the dungeons. Looks like I can get loot in the real world, too. This... could be a big drag with a team."_

The genin leapt down, quickly tossed the loot in his inventory so he wouldn't have to hunt for it later, and leapt back up. He was able to quietly repeat the process three more times, stealthily killing the boars before they could get a bead on him, until the last one caught him in the act.

 _Mama Boar (Lv. 18)_

 _A mature boar, who recently orchestrated her and her clan's escpape from the Zeroth Training Ground. She now grieves for the loss of her children, and will inflict havoc upon the world of humanity until all understand her pain._

Shikamaru took to the trees again, but the Mama Boar charged and slammed into the massive oak, ripping it from the ground and forcing the genin to find a new hiding place. As he fell, he peppered her hide with shuriken, making her bellow in anger. He dashed away, running out over a nearby pond. The Mama Boar paced the sideline, glaring murderously. Thinking quickly, the Nara slapped his hands together in the rat sign and threw his shadow towards the beast, catching her in the Shadow Imitation. Crouching down, he slowly took several steps back, dragging her into the water until her snout fell under the surface. He carefully watched his CP, but fortunately it only took a minute or so for her to drown, and with his new attribute he had more than enough chakra to pull it off.

 **Mama boar defeated! 400 EXP. 5/5 defeated.**

Shikamaru breathed a sign of relief and walked over to where she drowned, picking up a soggy wad of ryo and a Jutsu Boost Scroll (Lv. 5). His task completed, he stuck his hands in his pockets and took off towards the Hokage Tower, not noticing the swirl of leaves falling from the trees above that signaled the departure of a jounin with a lot of questions.

…

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled happily as he entered his office, a tall insulated mug of piping hot coffee in his hands. Decaf, of course- at this point in the day, it would keep him up all the night if he indulged himself. Shikaku had introduced him to the beverage from (ironically) the Land of Tea years ago, and the aging Hokage had readily added it to his list of simple pleasures. After several decades of one of the most difficult jobs one could ever have, after losing his beloved wife, Biwako, after never being able to be the father or grandfather he wanted to be... Hiruzen knew that the little things mattered. They would never make up for the other sacrifices in his life, but they at least gave him a little fuel to keep moving forward. The little tobacco booster the Daimyo kept subtly sending his way under the table; the dark roast coffee beans Konoha occasionally accepted as part of the payment for missions to the Land of Tea; the small bottle of sake in the bottom left drawer of his desk; even the moments once or twice a year that he would sneak out of the office and enjoy a bowl of ramen, or some freshly-caught fish on the shore with a young Naruto Uzumaki.

The little pleasures most certainly added up. And tonight, he could certainly use some. He walked over to his desk and placed a sealing scroll from his robes in the corner, unrolling it and channeling a little chakra to reveal a small pile of more scrolls, along with an empty, well-worn burlap sack. His keen ears detected a gentle disruption of the air behind him, and he smiled.

"I see you wasted little time in coming here."

Asuma hurriedly entered the office and shut the door behind him. "What the hell was that?"

"That, Asuma, is what we hope to discover this evening," the Sandaime stated tiredly.

"Please, enough with the cryptic. You've given me enough of that crap over the years. You know something," the jounin demanded. "Is it real? I just saw wild animals turn into money. Money which my genin then made disappear into thin air without the use of chakra."

"... It certainly seems real," Hiruzen replied tiredly. "But first, I think we should open up our minds, in the same way I first encountered this." He walked over to his desk, opening the bottom _right_ drawer of his desk and making a quick hand sign. In the back, behind several files of papers, a tall glass bottle filled with an amber whiskey and two small glasses appeared. Hiruzen pulled it out, chuckling to himself as he read the label. He waved his son over, pouring him a little in a glass and putting a splash into his mug of decaf. "I haven't touched this gift in decades. The label always made me chuckle. 'Flamebeard's Firebrandy.' What a title!"

Asuma took a sip and immediately began coughing. "Where the hell did you find this stuff? Is this even safe to drink?"

"It was a gift. I'll admit, it takes a little getting used to," he chortled. His fingers flew rapidly through a long string of signs before he slammed both hands on his desk. Fuinjutsu flared to life and swept throughout the room as a jutsu the Hokage hadn't had a need for in years sprung into existence, awakening from the fresh chakra poured into the matrix.

Asuma's eyes widened. "Is that an Uzumaki seal?"

Hiruzen paused, checking it over, before nodding. "Yes. For privacy. Rather ingenious, honestly; something Mito Uzumaki put together when Hashirama was Hokage. It cancels out soundwaves emanating from within the confines of the seal."

"..."

"... Nobody can hear anything we say unless they're standing on the seal."

"Ah." Asuma swirled the brandy around in his glass. "So, will you give me a hint, or am I just going to learn once he gets here?"

"To be honest, I know very little," Hiruzen confessed. "But Shikamaru appears to have awakened a power that I glimpsed decades ago, something I never truly believed in until recently. The man who had it came into the power later in his life and never quite convinced me that it was real. I thought his words to be merely eccentricates that powerful shinobi oft fall prey to. Because if what he told me was correct, the power is one that affects reality."

"The power to affect reality..." Asuma breathed. He took another swig from his glass and held it out to his father. "I think I might need another splash."

Hiruzen shook his head. "Afterwards. We both need to be clearheaded for this. Well, partially, at any rate." He spun the bottle around on the table and sighed. "The irony is, the person who gave me this bottle is the same person who I was just speaking of."

"And who was that?"

"You're about to find out." Hiruzen stood up and approached the door, opening it and surprising the young Nara mid-knock. "Ah, you've just arrived. Come on in, Shikamaru. We've been expecting you." He stepped to the side and allowed the genin in, closing the door behind him. "Please, at ease, have a seat. I take it your mission was successful?"

The Nara tensed as he noticed the fuinjutsu array spread across the floor. "Um, yes, Lord Hokage. All of the boars have been eliminated."

 **Quest Completed! Pigging Out: Reward: 1000 EXP, 5,000 Ryo, 2 AP**

"Thank you. The mission will be marked as completed; your reward will be deposited into your clan's bank account for later withdrawal." He nodded towards the seal on the floor. "Have no fear; this is merely a privacy seal, intended to prevent outside listeners from hearing anything that takes place within this office."

At that, Shikamaru tensed even more, before Gamer's Mind kicked in and restored his sense of calm.

"If you don't mind my asking," Asuma interjected, "how did the mission go? Did you have any difficulties?"

"No, sensei. I stayed above them in the trees and tried to eliminate them as quietly as possible. The larger one, the mother, was a bit more difficult, but I was able to trap her."

"I see. Did you encounter anything interesting?"

"Not that I can think of," the Nara replied uneasily.

"Hmm. Very interesting, indeed," Hiruzen murmured. "Your sensei and I would like to speak to you regarding some... irregularities, Shikamaru."

"... Irregularities?"

Hiruzen smiled warmly at him. "Yes. Have no fear, nothing you say will leave this office. You have my word."

"And mine," Asuma chirped.

Shikamaru just looked back and forth between the two. _"Damn it, I have no clue what specifically they're talking about. They're being intentionally vague to pull information out..."_

Hiruzen sighed, seeing that the young genin in front of him would need a little bit more of a push before opening up. "Did you know, Shikamaru, that the Hokage possess a jutsu that allows them to watch over the village from a distance? It involves this ball of crystal that you see on my coffee table. Looks deceptively like a decoration, does it not?" he laughed. "With this, as long as I know who I am looking for, I can see anyone within about twenty miles of my location. Imagine my surprise when I tried to find you one evening, Shikamaru..."

The Nara sighed. "And I disappeared while you were watching," he finished.

Hiruzen continued. "I was more surprised to find you battling against what appeared to be deceased animals and enemies brought back to life in a world tinged with a reddish hue."

Shikamaru's brain snapped to a halt and his eyes locked with his Hokage's. "Oh yes, Shikamaru. Just as surprised as Asuma was this evening when he witnessed your slain enemies transform from pork to printed ryo in the blink of an eye. Or how you can make items disappear into thin air. Or how you mysteriously find tips that lead you along until you uncover secrets you most certainly were not meant to understand at this time. Or how you seem to be able to absorb printed texts and learn their contents instantly. Or how you changed from a young boy who couldn't care about anything but his next nap into a shinobi driven by an insatiable need for perfection."

Hiruzen smiled nostalgically at the stunned young man in front of him. "Perhaps, what was most surprising to me was the discovery that the words my sensei, Tobirama Senju, confided to me in a bar fifty years ago were not the delusions of a tipsy, befuddled shinobi, but rather of a man in the midst of something impossible to understand or relay, something that defied the very rules of reality in order to impose its own. To think that his blessing, his curse, that I did not believe in so long ago would reemerge with you."

"So tell me, Shikamaru Nara, as an order from your Hokage. How long have you been playing this game, and what are the rules by which you must play?"

…

…

…

 **Character**

 _Name: Shikamaru Nara_

 _Age: 12_

 _Faction: Konoha: the Village Hidden in the Leaves_

 _Affiliation: Team 10_

 _Rank: Genin_

 _Title: Genin (+10 REP with all Leaf shinobi, -10 REP from all foreign shinobi)_

 _Level: 18_

 _EXP: 938 / 2167_

 _HP: 333 / 333 [+100]_

 _CP: 372 / 372_

 _SP: 143 / 143 [+10]_

 _STR: 24 [+10]_

 _VIT: 76 [+50]_

 _DEX: 33 [+20]_

 _INT: 60_

 _WIS: 50_

 _LUK: 5 [+5]_

 _CC: 50%_

 _HP Regeneration: 5% / minute_

 _CP Regeneration: 10% / minute [+5%]_

 _SP Regeneration: 15% / minute [+10%]_

 _Physical Endurance (4%)_

 _Spiritual Endurance (1%)_

 **Attributes (AP: 13)**

 _Gamer's Body: The Gamer's body functions as though in a game setting. Sleep heals all status effects and injuries. HP, CP, and SP recovery rates continue during sleep at the standard rate._

 _Gamer's Mind: The Gamer's mind functions as though in a game setting. Enables the Gamer to think rationally and peacefully while under duress. The Gamer is immune to mind-control or mind-invasion techniques; anyone who enters the Gamer's mind will not be able to see anything or take control of the body._

 _Nara Clan Member: Unlocks Nara clan secret jutsu. Unlocks affinity with wild deer. Unlocks medical jutsu._

 _Nara Clan Heir: Trained in Self-Preservation for the sake of the clan! Permanent +100 to Health Points._

 _Wunderkind: Gifted with advanced cognitive abilities; evident at an extremely young age! Permanent +30 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom._

 _Ready Player One: Multiply EXP gained for zatsujutsu by 50%._

 _A Gentleman & A Scholar: Multiply EXP gained for ninjutsu by 50%._

 _I Know Kung Fu: Multiply EXP gained for taijutsu by 50%._

 _Playing with Fire: +10 to all stats when facing opponents from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

 _Head in the Clouds: Doubles the rate of CP & SP regeneration while watching the clouds._

 _Inner Eye: Boosts the CP magnifier by 100%. Boosts the CC magnifier by 50%. Increases the rate at which spiritual resistance improves by 50%._

 _Elemental Affinity Lightning: Increase EXP gained for lightning ninjutsu by 50%. Reduce CP costs of lightning ninjutsu by 25%._

 **Apparel**

 _Head:_

 _Torso: [Yuuto's Flak Jacket] (+50 VIT, +100 HP, +50 REP with Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, & _

_Sarutobi clans, -10 REP with all other Leaf shinobi)_

 _Undershirt: [Plain Mesh Tank] (+5% CP Regeneration)_

 _Gloves: [Tactical Fingerless Gloves (Black)] (+10 STR, +10 DEX)_

 _Underwear: [Plain Boxers (Navy)]_

 _Legs: [Yuuto's Cargo Pants] (+10 DEX, +10 SP, +10 Storage)_

 _Feet: [Yuuto's Boots (Black)] (+10 DEX, +10% SP Regen.)_

 _Projectile Bag: [Medium Hip Pouch: 15 / 30]_

 _Accessory: [Konoha Headband (Black)] (+15 REP with all Leaf Ninja and allies)_

 _Accessory: [Old Omamori: Kaiun] (+5 LUK)_

 _Weapon 1:_

 _Weapon 2:_

 _Projectile 1: Kunai (10)_

 _Projectie 2: Shuriken (12)_

 **Ninjutsu**

 _Nara Clan Secret Jutsu_

 _Shadow Bind (Level 33): Original technique created by the Nara clan to control the shadows. The user manipulates his or her shadow across surfaces to the shadow(s) of the opponent(s) and renders them immobile. (CP: 20 per target, +1 per sec. of resistance per target) (Range: M)_

 _Shadow Imitation (Level 7): The user reaches out with their shadow and forces the target's body to mimic the user's actions. (CP 40, +3 per sec. of resistance per target) (Range: M)_

 _Nara Diagnosis (Level MAX): The user uses his or her chakra to detect foreign elements and status effects within an organic target. Must be in direct contact with the target. Chance of success is dependent upon INT. (CP: 30) (Range: S-)_

 _Nara Invigoration (Level 1): The user is able to shorten the length of time foreign elements or status effects have on an organic target. Must be in direct contact with the target. Chance of success is dependent upon INT, and may require specific consumable objects to succeed. (CP: 100) (Range: S-)_

 _Ninjutsu_

 _Clone (Level 6): The user creates an illusionary copy of himself to try and deceive the enemy. (CP: 20, Limit 2 at a time, Range: S)_

 _Transformation (Level 5): The user creates an illusion that covers the self and mimics the appearance of another person or thing. (CP: 15, +1 per 15 sec.)_

 _Substitution (Level 16): The user replaces herself with a nearby log or other inanimate object to escape damage. (CP: 15, Range: M-)_

 _Nature Manipulation_

 _Fire Style: Charcoal (Level 2): The user transforms wood or stone into glowing embers. (CP: 20, Range: S-)_

 **Genjutsu**

 _Kai (Level 2): Releases user from genjutsu. The higher the level, the higher level of genjutsu that can be broken. Higher leveled genjutsu can be broken through consumption of additional chakra based upon level of enemy's jutsu. (CP: 10+)_

 **Taijutsu**

 _Beginner's Shorinji Kempo (Lv. 3): An ancient, holistic martial way that focuses on self-defense, mental, and health training._

 **Bukijutsu**

 _Shuriken (Level 15): Ability to throw shuriken in combat. (Accuracy: 15%, Range: M)_

 _Kunai (Level 16): Ability to throw or wield kunai in combat. (Accuracy: 16%, Range: M)_

 **Zatsujutsu**

 _The Gamer_

 _Observe (Level 21): By analyzing your surrounds, you are able to learn information. (CP: 5) (Range: M)_

 _Craft (Level N/A): By combining ingredients, one can create new items. One must have the recipe recorded in the journal and the skills necessary to create the new item._

 _Escape Dungeon Jutsu (Level 4):_ _A means of escaping natural and instant dungeons. The user uses chakra to focus the power of the Gamer to return from the dungeon to reality. The user cannot be engaged in combat when using this jutsu. (CP: 50)_

 _Chakra Manipulation_

 _Leaf Concentration (Level MAX): Concentrate on holding a leaf to your body to learn how to control chakra! Develops chakra control multiplier from 0 to 1 at maximum. (CP: 0) (Range: S-)_

 _Tree Climbing Jutsu (Level 25 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to stick to surfaces. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 25% and decreased the CP cost when applied to solid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)_

 _Water Walking Jutsu (Level 50 MAX). A chakra control technique. The user focuses chakra throughout his or her body to remain on the surface of a liquid. Perfecting this jutsu has increased the CC magnifier by 50% and decreased the CP cost when applied to liquid surfaces to zero. (CP: 0, +0 per sec. of sticking) (Range: S-)_

 _Meditation (Level 9). The user focuses inward, boosting WIS, INT, CP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration while in a trance. Any attacks against the user while engaged in meditation are automatic critical hits (CP: 0) (Range: N/A)._

 _Yin Release: Move a Shadow Jutsu (Level 22). A yin chakra control technique. The user concentrates yin chakra within a shadow and condenses and enforces it until it can be moved across mediums, have density, and can influence the physical world. (CP: 25, + 10 per second) (Range: M)_

 _Yang Release: Anti-Indigestion Jutsu (Level 7). A yang chakra control technique created by the Akimichi clan. The user consumes chakra to enhance the body's production of physical energy, boosting VIT, STR, HP Regeneration, & SP Regeneration. Eases the symptoms of indigestion and speeds up the filtration of poison. Any attacks against the user while engaged in this technique are automatic critical hits. (CP: 0, + 5 per second) (Range: N/A)_

…


End file.
